When ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ students and staff return to school buildings in September 2020, all buildings will follow New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) guidance related to social distancing and other safety measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. All buildings will clean frequently occupied spaces and touched surfaces, in order to prevent the spread of the infection. Excerpted from NYSED’s Recovering, Rebuilding and Renewing: The Spirit of New York’s Schools Reopening Guidance, 2020.
Reopening Mandatory Requirements
General Health and Safety Assurances
School districts or other applicable schools must follow all guidance related to health and safety. This will include meeting social distancing requirements and cleaning frequently touched spaces regularly to prevent spread of infection. These requirements will be addressed in more detail in other parts of the ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Reopening Plan.
Fire Code Compliance
Changes or additions to facilities require review by the Office of Facilities Planning (OFP), since all spaces to be occupied by public school students and staff must meet the requirements of the 2020 New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (BC) and the State Energy Conservation Code. The ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ asserts that, should alterations be made, district and other applicable schools will submit the proposed changes to the Office of Facilities Planning for review and approval.
Doorways
Many stairs and corridor doors have closers with automatic hold opens. These doors are normally held in the open position and are automatically released by the fire alarm system. The function, position, and operation of those doors must remain unchanged. Fortunately, they need not be touched during normal use.
Emergency Drills
ÃÛèÖÊÓƵs or other applicable schools shall conduct standard operations and procedures to the best of their abilities without deviating from current requirements. Fire (evacuation) Drills and Lockdown Drills are required by Education Law and regulation and the Fire Code and they must be conducted without exceptions. Fire Code Section 404 requires that schools maintain Fire Safety, Evacuation, and Lockdown Plans and these plans include how lockdown and evacuation drills are conducted. The ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ will incorporate methods to promote and provide for social distancing during evacuation drills. Those changes will be included in our Fire Safety plans.
Inspections
Statute has not been changed to provide an extension to the submission deadline for the Building Condition Survey or Visual Inspections. The ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ will meet these deadlines.
Lead Testing due in 2020
At present, the statutory requirement that lead testing occur in 2020 continues. NYS DOH regulation 67-4, Lead-In-Water Testing, requires lead-in-water testing to be conducted when the building is “normally occupied.” Sampling should not be conducted when the building is vacant or has been vacant for an extended period due to COVID-19 closure. Simulation of “normally occupied operation” for the purpose of lead-in-water testing is not permitted. The ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ School ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ will follow recommended procedures to the extent possible to provide clean and safe drinking water upon reopening.