Guidance on Long-term School Closure - March 26, 2020

Date:     March 26, 2020 

To:         Superintendents and Principals

From:    Colt Gill, Director of the Oregon Department of Education and Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction

RE:       Guidance on Long-term School Closure - March 26, 2020

Thank you for your leadership in these unprecedented times. As schools, families, and communities adjust to the closure, we are committed to providing ongoing guidance and resources as we sort through new challenges together. This memo provides you with an update on a number of topics as you strive to serve students through the month of April.

This memo includes:

• Clarification of responsibilities under Governor Brown’s Executive Orders to close schools through April 28 and for Oregonians to “Stay Home, Save Lives” 
• Guidance on the delivery of out-of-school supplementary education and learning supports
• Survey: Additional Resources and Supplementary Supports 
• Resources for mental health and social emotional support 
• ODE’s suspension of ESSA Assessment and Accountability requirements for the 2019-20 school year 
• Guidance on tracking costs related to COVID-19 
• Information on ADMw calculations for purposes of State School Fund (SSF) distribution under the school closure 
• Guidance regarding virtual charter schools 
• New resources and COVID-19 website improvement 

Clarification of School Closure Responsibilities

Initial Closure

On March 12, Governor Brown initially announced a school closure of two weeks for staff and two weeks and two days for students. This initial closure was in consideration of staffing challenges and health concerns due to the public health threat of coronavirus. This closure was replaced and superseded by Executive Order 20-08. The initial announcement should no longer serve as guidance; districts are no longer required to bring all staff physically onsite on March 30 and 31.

Current Closure

On March 17, all public schools, including those operated by school districts, education service districts (ESDs), and public charter schools were closed through April 28 under Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-08. This order is consistent with the mitigation strategies recommended by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) with regard to COVID-19, in order to slow the spread of the disease and to protect Oregonians at the highest risk of contracting the disease.

Under this order schools will continue to receive allocations from the SSF during the closure period if they perform the following services:

• Deliver supplemental education and learning supports to students to the extent practical through independent study and other appropriate options.
• Provide school meals, consistent with requirements provided by the Oregon Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Transportation grant funds from the SSF may be used by public schools for delivery of meals.
• Provide for supplemental services and emergency management services, including but not limited to the provision of child care for first responders, emergency workers, health care professionals, and other individuals, consistent with any guidance and requirements provided by the Early Learning Division. Public schools may use transportation grant funds from the SSF for school district transportation services to support the transportation of children to and from school-based child care.   
• Develop plans for the operation of essential, non-educational services, including food services to students and families.
• Continue to regularly pay all employees of public schools. A public school subject to this Executive Order may require school employees to report to work to assist with the provision of supplemental services and emergency management activities. However, this should not be construed to require public school employees in at-risk categories, or public school employees who have an at-risk member of their household, to take action inconsistent with public health recommendations or the advice of the employee’s physician. 

Simply put, schools are closed for normal operation and, instead, they must pay staff their regular wages to perform new tasks, under new circumstances, in service to their community in unprecedented times. During the closure, schools must provide (to the extent possible) out-of-school supplementary education and learning supports, school meals, and emergency child care. Staff must be available to fulfill these obligations to earn their regular wages.

Stay Home. Save Lives.

On March 23, Governor Brown issued Executive Order 20-12, titled “Stay Home, Save Lives.” As part of an ongoing effort to mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19, this order places restrictions on the activities of all Oregonians. 

This order does not change the requirements of Oregon’s school closure under Executive Order 20-08. However, it may change the way school districts, ESDs, and charter schools go about implementing the requirements under the school closure. 

Schools must adjust to providing the requirements of Executive Order 20-08 (out-of-school  supplementary education and learning supports, school meals, and emergency child care) by:

• Facilitating telework and work-at-home by employees, to the maximum extent possible. Work in buildings is prohibited whenever telework and work-at-home options are available, in light of position duties, availability of teleworking equipment, and network adequacy. This is clearly not possible for meal preparation and delivery or for the provision of child care. However, in some districts this will be possible for delivery of supplementary education and learning supports and related professional development to support teachers in this new way of delivering education. 
• When telework and work-at-home options are not available, school districts, ESDs, and charter schools must designate an employee or officer to establish, implement, and enforce social distancing policies, consistent with guidance from the Oregon Health Authority. Such policies and activities must also address how the school will maintain social distancing protocols to the greatest extent possible for essential visitors and delivery of services.
• Childcare must be carried out in maximum stable groups of 10 or fewer children (“stable” means the same 10 or fewer children are in the same group each day), and in a classroom that cannot be accessed by children outside the stable group.
• Schools must prioritize the childcare needs of first responders, emergency workers and health care professionals, followed by critical operations staff and essential personnel, consistent with guidance provided by the Oregon Department of Education, Early Learning Division.
• Employees in at-risk categories or who have an at-risk member of their household should not be required to physically report to a worksite. They may be assigned duties through telework or work-at-home.

Key Points

1. The original school closure was superseded by Executive Order 20-08. There is no requirement for districts to assign all staff to physically return to work on March 30 and 31. 
2. Executive Order 20-08 closed schools through April 28. This closure date will be reviewed in April as more is known about the spread of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.
3. During the closure schools must pay staff to work differently to provide out-of-school supplementary education and learning supports, school meals, and emergency child care.
4. Schools must also adhere to provisions of Executive Order 20-12, titled “Stay Home, Save Lives.” by facilitating telework and work-at-home whenever possible, enforcing social distancing measures when staff must be onsite, and ensuring employees who are at-risk or have household members at-risk are not required to physically report to a worksite.

Supplemental Education and Learning Supports (SEALS) Guidance

The purpose of SEALS is to create continuity for learning, center equity, and support educators during school closure. This guidance will define and clarify SEALS, provide a framework for districts to identify their remote schooling readiness (whether online or offline), provide planning tools for implementing SEALS, and to share resources to assist districts. This guidance will be followed with additional resources to support this work. 

This guidance includes initial steps in this effort, and ODE will continue to develop and provide resources to districts, schools, families, students, and communities. The SEALS guidance will be posted to the ODE COVID-19 website this weekend. Guidance on Pathways to Graduation for students in grades 9-12 is undergoing additional vetting. We hope to have that information posted to the ODE COVID-19 website in the coming days. 

Survey: Additional Resources and Supplementary Supports

The initial guidance provided above is intended to help districts frame next steps for SEALS (whether online or offline). ODE understands that districts and families may need additional resourcing to fulfill these obligations under Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-08, including possible technology supports and other mechanisms to ensure that students are able to equitably access and utilize online learning opportunities that some districts may choose to implement.

In order to understand your specific district’s needs, ODE has created a short survey (estimated completion time: 15-20 minutes) to assess your district’s capacity to consider online learning while your staff and students are working and learning remotely.

As a possible resource, we are actively connecting with our education partners and philanthropic organizations who continue to ask us how they can directly support district efforts during these challenging times. Responses from the survey will allow us to collectively determine what is needed and how to provide necessary supports to close opportunity and access gaps for our students and families across the state. 

Please complete the survey to the best of your ability, knowing that some questions may be approximated, by April 1. We sincerely appreciate your time and input.

Mental Health and Social Emotional Support Guidance

ODE has developed a set of resources to provide mental health and social emotional support to districts. These resources provide trauma- and social emotional-informed guidance for students, families and staff during the COVID-19 outbreak as it disrupts everyday life in Oregon. We encourage school districts to share these resources with staff, students and families. These resources include topics such as:

• Five key ways to support mental health for students during the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond  
• How to talk with children about the Coronavirus
• How to cope with stress during an infectious disease outbreak
• How to support high school seniors 
• How to stop racism
• Resources for migrant and non-English speaking families
• How to prevent youth suicide  - youth version 
• How adults can help to prevent suicide 
• How to support children and teens through loss and trauma
• How to support student and staff mental and emotional health and wellbeing in supplemental education activities

ODE’s Assessment & Accountability Waiver

ODE submitted a comprehensive statewide assessment and accountability waiver to the U.S. Department of Education on March 20. Through the U.S. Department of Education’s expedited process,  ODE immediately received authority to implement the waiver. ODE hosted a Public Comment period, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act, Section 8401, that ended on March 23 at 5:00 PM. ODE received four comments in support of the waiver and one question. 

Key Points

1. ODE will suspend implementation of the statewide summative assessments in English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8 & 11 and science in grades 5, 8, & 11 for the 2019-20 school year (pending any required changes to ORSs and OARs).
2. ODE will suspend the Essential Skills Requirement for the Oregon Diploma for the 2019-20 school year (pending any required changes to ORSs and OARs). Additional information on Pathways to Graduation for the class of 2020 is forthcoming.
3. If schools reopen on April 29 and secure test environments can be provided, the summative English language proficiency assessment (ELPA) will be available for students who are Emergent Bilinguals/English Learners. Detailed ELPA  guidance is forthcoming. 
4. ODE will not identify new schools for targeted supports based on data from the 2019-20 school year. Schools that were previously identified will continue to receive supports in 2020-21.
5. ODE will not produce Accountability Details reports based on 2019-20 data. ODE is reviewing the effects that school closures and this waiver have on data collections and validations for this spring and summer. 

School Districts Should Track COVID-19 Related Costs

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) may become a resource for school district costs related to COVID-19. This act would provide $30.75 billion in an Education Stabilization Fund. There will be 2 percent taken off the top and allocated as 0.5 percent set-aside for outlying areas; 0.5 percent for the Bureau of Indian Education; and a 1 percent special competitive grant for highly impacted COVID areas (details on this grant are still pending). The balance of the Fund will be divided among governors ($2.95 billion), higher education ($13.95 billion), and state education agencies (SEAs) for elementary and secondary education (nearly $13.23 billion). 

Of the $13.23 billion allocated to SEAs for K-12 education: 

• At least 90 percent of the remaining funds, or approximately $11.91 billion, would be distributed to LEAs by Title I formula (likely FY19 formulas).  The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) urged Congress to provide funds by formula so that states can distribute funds as quickly as possible.  
• SEAs would have the option of reserving up to 10 percent, or approximately $1.32 billion for grants and statewide contracts for emergency needs as determined by the SEA for coronavirus-related purposes, and up to 0.5 percent for administrative purposes. 

Governors would receive approximately $3 billion to be used for higher education or K-12 supports to local education agencies (LEAs) - school districts - that the SEA has deemed most significantly impacted by COVID-19. 

The CARES Act and other federal stimulus and state funds may become available to support school districts impacted by COVID-19. The amount and uses of any such funds is not currently clear. ODE advises school districts to carefully track all spending related to COVID-19. Additional guidance is forthcoming. 

Information on ADMw Calculations for Purposes of State School Fund (SSF) Distribution Under the School Closure

The State School Fund allocations for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year will be based on schools’ ADM in the 2nd period ADM data collection as of December 31, 2019. Changes to ADM and resulting weighting (ADMw) for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year will be adjusted in the State School Fund reconciliation in May 2021.

During the time school districts are operating under Executive Order 20-08 and schools are providing supplemental education and learning supports (SEALS) to students to the extent practical, ODE will continue to use the definition of Day in Session found in OAR 581-023-0006(f).  Time during school closures will not be considered a session day as the students are not under the guidance and direction of teachers.

It’s important to remember that funding from the State School Fund is based on Average Daily Membership (ADM) and not the number of session days. E.g. our school reports 130 total session days for the school year and the student’s attendance of days present and days absent totals 130 days. If the student’s scheduled FTE is one, the student’s ADM would be one. This would be similar to a typical school year, where 175 days attendance divided into 175 session days would still equal one ADM. 

Once schools have reopened and students are under the guidance and direction of teachers for the day, school districts would then account for and report those as Days in Session. At that point, it will be important to report your session days to  ODE to include only the days the school facility was actually open and serving students. If you erroneously include days the school facility was closed, this could impact your payments from the State School Fund. 

There will be detailed guidance for 3rd Period and Annual ADM forthcoming. This section is preliminary based on the need for any required changes to ORSs and OARs.

Guidance Regarding Virtual Public Charter Schools

On March 17, all public schools, including those operated by school districts, education service districts (ESDs), and public charter schools were closed through April 28 under Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-08. This order is consistent with the mitigation strategies recommended by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) with regard to COVID-19, in order to slow the spread of the disease and to protect Oregonians at the highest risk of contracting the disease.

This executive order includes virtual public charter schools as well as other online schools operated by school districts in Oregon. However, schools that were delivering school online prior to the closure or were capable of fully delivering school online after the closure - without in-person contact - were allowed to continue to operate under guidance by the Oregon Department of Education. The continuation of services by online or virtual schools operated by school districts or virtual charter schools has not been interrupted as further guidance has been developed.

In order to continue receiving allocations from the SSF as allowed by the executive order, schools were also directed to provide supplemental education and learning supports (SEALS) to students as well as emergency management response to provide meals to students and emergency child care for first responders, emergency workers, health care professionals. Under this guidance, virtual public charter schools may continue to operate by providing SEALS through regular delivery of online school to students and coordinating with their sponsoring school district regarding any support for emergency management response. 

Under this guidance a closed virtual public charter school may operate to provide online education services under the following conditions:

1. With the closure of the school under the executive order, the school may not enroll new students after March 26, 2020 until schools are reopened by the Governor. The schools may continue to serve all students enrolled prior to March 27, 2020.
2. Comply with all of the conditions laid out in the Governor’s executive order paragraph 4(a) to (e). One method of compliance is to coordinate with their sponsor district to support the efforts of the district to meet the requirements of the executive order. This may include supporting the delivery of supplemental education and learning supports, school meals and the provision of child care.
3. Continue to regularly pay all employees and may assign employees to provide supplemental services and emergency management activities.

Virtual public charter schools may not enroll new students or withdraw existing students during the period of school closure. Additionally, State School Fund allocations for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year will be based on the virtual public charter school’s ADM in the 2nd period ADM data collection as of December 31, 2019. Changes to ADM and resulting weighting (ADMw) for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year will be adjusted in the State School Fund reconciliation in May 2021. Virtual public charter schools will receive State School Funds pursuant to state law, their charter agreement and if they are in compliance with the Executive Order 20-08 and ODE guidance. Where there is a conflict between state law or their charter agreement and an Executive Order of the Governor, the Executive Order prevails pursuant to the Governor’s emergency powers.

New Resources and COVID-19 Website Improvement

ODE has improved our COVID-19 website. As the content grew over the last several days, it became important to ensure this resource is still an easily navigated tool. Please visit the site frequently to see updates to the categorized FAQ page, review past updates to superintendents, essential documents, and resources for families. 

Here are some important resources you should be aware of:

• School Closure and Federal Programs Actions
• USDE Fact Sheet: Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Schools While Protecting the Civil Rights of Students (March 16)
• USDE Supplemental Fact Sheet Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Schools While Serving Children with Disabilities (March 21)
• Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission Response to COVID-19 (March 23)
• Preparing for and Responding to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as a Parent or Family of a Child who Experiences Disability (March 22)
• Links to district meal services
• Social Media Resources for “Stay Home, Save Lives”

Note: Under the “Stay Home, Save Lives.” executive order, ODE’s offices in Salem are closed to the public. Staff will be teleworking and we remain open to the public by telephone and online. Visit our Contact Us page for details on how to get in touch while the buildings are closed.