Dear NYS Principals and Administrators,
As you may have seen, the state just issued new COVID-19 guidance for schools. See here.
We will be hosting a brief webinar on Thursday, September 9th from 2:30-3:00 pm to review the requirements of the new guidance and answer your questions.
Ultimately, the decision to adopt most of the mitigation measures found in the guidance resides with the school, unless otherwise required in the guidance or other relevant regulations or orders.
As of now, there are only a handful of regulations found in the guidance that a school must follow:
1) Masking: Any person over the age of 2 must wear masks indoors in school buildings. Please see our prior memo regarding the details of this rule HERE. discussions with the DOH, we have been informed that if social distancing cannot be maintained during times when students do not have to wear masks, social distancing is not required.
2) Testing: Unvaccinated teachers and staff working in a P-12 school setting need to get tested once per week when a school is operating in a geographic area identified as having low, moderate, or high transmission rates. Note that how and when schools need to collect documentation of testing, as well as reporting results, has not yet been clearly defined.
3) Policies: Schools must have policies in place that clearly explain what students, teachers, and personnel with new or worsening symptoms must do.
4) Referral and screening testing: Schools should have the ability to at least refer for testing any students or staff for the purposes of:
A) screening testing or
B) those who are symptomatic or were exposed to someone with COVID-19.
NYC Schools: You can email [email protected] to request COVID-19 testing for your school.
5) Daily Reporting: While the guidance does mention daily reporting, there has not yet been any commissioner’s determination regarding how and when reporting will occur.
As always, feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
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Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus
Director of Yeshiva Services
Ami Bazov, Esq.
Coordinator of Education Affairs
Yeshiva Services champions and guides yeshivos and day schools, advocates for resources at all levels of government, educates and guides yeshiva leadership, and defends yeshivos and their unique character under the guidance of Gedolei Yisroel, ensuring the continued growth of Klal Yisroel.