Updated Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Service Plan now due March 30, 2022.

To: Superintendents, Charter School Leaders, Reopening Advisors
From: Kati Moseley, Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Manager
Date: February 10, 2022
Subject: Updated Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Service Plan now due March 30, 2022.

Dear Colleagues,

With the recent OHA announcement regarding changes to masking requirements in K-12 settings the deadline to submit updates to the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Service Plans will now be March 30, 2022. For those who have already submitted their update, thank you. You will not need to resubmit your plan to ODE, but will need to update your plan to describe your approach to face coverings as a mitigation strategy, and post the update publicly by March 30.

ESSER III requires school districts and public charter schools to, if needed, update their Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Service Plan every six months, gathering public comment and bringing the plan into alignment with any changes in health and safety recommendations set forth by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

The Oregon Department of Education sent out messages on January 4 and January 19, announcing important updates needed to the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Service Plans. With the Omicron variant present in Oregon, with changes from the CDC and OHA in relation to isolation, quarantine and test to stay and with changes from OHA regarding face coverings and ODE and the State Board of Education to the Individualized COVID-19 Recovery Services, tools like the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Services Plan are instrumental to our work to support all learners and ensure students can access in person instruction.

As a best practice, districts and charter schools should gather public input, comment, and feedback to inform needed changes. Please use your current Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Services Plan or download a revised Plan template for School Districts or  Charter Schools for this update. All school districts and charter schools must update their Plan to include the following: 

1. Planning Mental Health Supports  
   • Revise responses related to ARP ESSER & OAR 581-022-0106 to reflect new strategies and recommendations related to Care and Connection. Refer to Appendix A within the instructions which provides resources, ideas, and recommendations for districts in addressing mental health needs of school community members.  

2. Link to Communicable Disease Management Plan 
   • Hyperlink to communicable disease manage plan. 

3. Health & Safety Strategies 
   • Revise responses to reflect new mitigation strategies related to COVID-19 such as adopting a district policy or following a local ordinance related to face coverings and/or the OHA testing program test to stay protocol. 

4. Individualized COVID-19 Recovery Services Section 
   • Revise to include policies, protocols and procedures for individualized COVID-19 recovery services offered by the district. OAR 581-015-2229  
     • If using the fillable pdf or the one in Appendix B combine the page(s) in which you have described the policies, procedures and protocols developed for provision of individualized COVID-19 recovery services into your Safe Return Plan before posting the plan and submitting the link.  
     • If using the revised Plan District template, or the Charter School template, the individualized COVID-19 recovery services section is already included at the end of the template. You will need to copy your plan content into the new template, including additions needed for this update, before you post the plan and submit the link.    

5. Updates to this Plan 
   • Revise the Date Last Updated field to reflect the current date. 

6. Post to a publicly accessible place for community members to access and review 
7. Submit to ODE

Once your plan update is complete, use the Safe Return Plan Update form to submit to ODE a functional link to where the updated plan is publicly posted and complete all requested elements no later than Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

Please reach out with questions about this update, by contacting the ODE COVID-19 inbox at ODECOVID19@ode.state.or.us. Thank you!