City Of San Antonio Issues Health Directive Ordering That All Schools In Bexar County Will Conduct Remote Learning Through September 7

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

July 17, 2020

Published on Friday, July 17, 2020Today, San Antonio Metro Health Medical Director Dr. Junda Woo issued to health directive requiring that schools not re-open for on-campus, face-to-face instruction until after September 7, 2020. The directive applies to all public and private schools. The start of on-campus instruction and activity may be delayed further based on ongoing monitoring and assessment of public health mitigation conditions.

"We recognize the importance of re-opening schools," said San Antonio Metro Health Medical Director Dr. Junda Woo. “This directive considers the higher risk for spread of COVID-19 in schools due to their confined spaces, and the challenge for children in following social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Re-opening will happen in phases, based on COVID-19 metrics. ”

The Health Directive states the following:

• School systems must not re-open schools for on-campus, face-to-face instruction until after September 7th, 2020. A school may accommodate families without Internet access or devices by providing access to remote learning in accordance with guidance issued by the TEA.
• School districts may provide virtual instruction consistent with individual district or school academic plans.
• School instructors may use classrooms for video streaming if they are alone in the classroom and the building occupancy does not exceed 10%.
• All school sponsored events and activities, including but not limited to extracurriculars, fairs, exhibitions, academic and/ or athletic competitions, must not take place in person, on or off campus, until school systems resume on-campus instruction.
• Each school system will develop a written safety and health protocols plan by Friday, August 21, 2020 to include protocols for resuming on-campus instruction and extracurricular activities. School systems must make the plan available to parents and the general public.

Local public health officials will monitor progress and warning indicators to determine whether further delays will be needed to protect the health and safety of students, teachers and school staff.

Dr. Woo was provided with recommendations from a task force of individuals selected with the support of the COVID-19 Community Response Coalition. Its members are listed below:

Name and Affiliation
Mandy Adkins - San Antonio Sports
Dr. Bernard Arulanandam - University of Texas at San Antonio
Melina Espiritu-Azocar - Parent and teacher
Morgan Brown - Graduate student
Dr. Luis Castagnini - Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
Natalie Clifford - Teacher
Dr. Craig Cooley - UT Health
Dr. Lynne Cossman - University of Texas at San Antonio
Tom Cummins - Union
Karen Freeman - Northside Independent School District
Joseph Garcia - ESD & Associates
Wendell Hardin - City of San Antonio Metro Health
Melanie Harrell - Student
Xochitl Hughes - Parent, Nurse, Teacher
Becca Hurliman - City of San Antonio Metro Health
Dr. Leah Jacobson - Bexar County Medical Society
Dr. Ruchi Kaushik - Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
Jennifer Krueger - Northside Independent School District
Dr. Sean Maika - North East Independent School District
Len Miller - Head of School, St. Mary’s Hall
David Nungaray - Principal, Bonham Academy
Maria Perez - North East Independent School District
Dr. Shaylon Rettig - District consultant
Adrian Reyna - San Antonio Coalition for Reopening
Kathy Shields - City of SA/Metro Health
Sarah Sorenson - Our Schools Coalition
Alejo Pena Soto - Student
Dr. Mandie Svatek - UT Health
Connie Swann - City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation
Len Trevino - City of San Antonio Metro Health
Mandy Tyler - Region 20
Dr. Emily Volk - UT Health
Dr. Peter Wald - USAA
Dr. Brian Woods - Northside Independent School District

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The City of San Antonio issues health directives mandating that all Bexar County schools carry out remote learning through September 7

La Ciudad de San Antonio emite directivas de salud que ordenan que todas las escuelas del Condado de Bexar lleven a cabo aprendizaje remoto hasta el 7 de septiembreSAN ANTONIO, TX (17 de julio de 2020) - Today, the San Antonio Metro medical director Health, Dr. Junda Woo issued a health directive requesting that schools not reopen for in-person classes until after September 7, 2020. The directive applies to all public and private schools. The start of instruction and activity on campus may be further delayed based on continuous monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 mitigation conditions.

"We recognize the importance of reopening schools," said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of San Antonio Metro Health. “This directive considers the increased risk of COVID-19 spreading in schools due to its confined spaces, and the challenge for children to follow the guidelines for distancing and social hygiene. The reopening will take place in phases, according to the COVID-19 metrics. ”

The health directive states the following:

• Los sistemas escolares no deben volver a abrir las escuelas para la instrucción presencial hasta después del 7 de septiembre de 2020. Una escuela puede ayudar a las familias sin acceso a Internet o dispositivos al proporcionar acceso al aprendizaje remoto de acuerdo con la orientación emitida por la TEA.
• Los distritos escolares pueden proporcionar instrucción virtual consistente con los planes académicos individuales del distrito o la escuela.
• Los instructores escolares pueden usar las aulas para la transmisión de video si están solos en el aula y la ocupación del edificio no supera el 10%.
• Todos los eventos y actividades patrocinados por la escuela, incluidos, entre otros, extracurriculares, ferias, exhibiciones, competencias académicas y / o deportivas, no deben realizarse en persona, dentro o fuera del campus, hasta que los sistemas escolares reanuden la instrucción en el campus.
• Cada sistema escolar desarrollará un plan escrito de protocolos de seguridad y salud antes del viernes 21 de agosto de 2020 para incluir protocolos para reanudar la instrucción en el campus y las actividades extracurriculares. Los sistemas escolares deben poner el plan a disposición de los padres y el público en general.

Los funcionarios locales de salud pública monitorearán el progreso y los indicadores de advertencia para determinar si se necesitarán más demoras para proteger la salud y la seguridad de los estudiantes, maestros y personal escolar.

La Dra. Woo recibió recomendaciones de un grupo de trabajo de individuos seleccionados con el apoyo de la COVID-19 Community Response Coalition.

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Documents to download

• Health Directive Related to Schools

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.