Planning for When Workplaces and Schools Reopen

New resources added during the week of October 12, 2020. Note: A date in parentheses means the publication date of that resource, not the date we posted it here. This is to let you see at a glance how current the information is.

Updated as of October 13, 2020

This short page of resources is part of CPIR’s Coronavirus Suite of information. The page focuses toward the future that’s swiftly becoming the present, when workplaces and schools reopen. No one knows when this will happen. In some places, it already has. Places that were opened are also re-closing and re-thinking. So…we all need continued guidance as we muddle ahead.

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Reopening Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prioritizing Health, Equity, and Communities
(2020, October) | This publication from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides guidance on the reopening and operation of elementary and secondary schools for the 2020-2021 school year. The recommendations of this report are designed to help districts and schools successfully navigate the complex decisions around reopening school buildings, keeping them open, and operating them safely. It’s available for purchase, but you can also read it online or download a free copy in PDF.

Returning to School: Considerations for Students with the Most Intensive Behavioral Needs
(2020, September) | This publication is subtitled A Guide to Supporting Students With Disabilities, Their Families, and Educators During the 2020–21 School Year. It provides a set of strategies and key practices with the ultimate goal of supporting students with the most intensive behavioral needs, their families, and educators in their transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic. This guide is a companion to the Center on PBIS’s guide Returning to School During and After a Crisis, published in June 2020, which is listed further below.

Making Service Delivery Relevant for Latino Families during COVID-19
(2020, September) | Latino families have experienced a disproportionate burden from the COVID-19 pandemic—illness and mortality rates, economic impact, and in terms of mental health. Agencies that serve Latino communities have also faced numerous challenges during the pandemic. In July 2020, the National Research Center for Hispanic Children & Families held a panel discussion with leaders of four organizations that have redesigned services to meet the needs of Latino communities flexibly and creatively during the pandemic. These organizations represent different types of programs (e.g., parent education, youth development, marriage and family strengthening, mental health) across the country. The subsequent report describes the four principles that have guided how these organizations adapted their service delivery to the Latino community.

Strategies for Providing School-based Family Planning during COVID-19
(2020, September) | Widespread school closures and additional safety concerns related to COVID-19 have restricted students’ ability to access reproductive health care, especially through school-based health centers (SBHCs). This brief from Child Trends discusses how, despite school closures, SBHCs can use innovative strategies to reach students remotely and maintain their access to reproductive care.

Considerations for Building Post-COVID Early Care and Education Systems that Serve Children with Disabilities
(2020, August) | Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for all families, especially those caring for young children with disabilities This fact sheet from Child Trends examines the interrelationship between disability, race, and ethnicity, and how this plays out across the country. It also discusses specific impacts of the pandemic on families with young children with disabilities, and offers considerations for states as ECE programs begin to reopen.

Returning to School During and After Crisis
(2020, June) | The Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) brings us this resource, subtitled Guide to Supporting States, Districts, Schools, Educators, and Students through a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Framework during the 2020-2021 School Year. The guide describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth. The guide provides information to support implementation at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. To learn more about how to use this resource, the PBIS Center recommends viewing the video Guide to the Guide. More streamlined guidance is available in the state, district, and school guides.

Plan and Deliver: Educating Students with Disabilities in Remote Settings
(2020, April) | In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest is featuring a blog series on supporting specific student populations as schools shift to remote learning. This particulate blog post focuses on the unique needs of students with disabilities. For additional evidence-based resources and guidance on remote learning, check out the collection of COVID-19 resources assembled by the regional labs.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Delivery of IDEA Early Childhood Services During the Pandemic
(2020, August) | Have questions? The ECTA Center offers answers on such aspects of delivering early childhood services as: consent, child find, evaluation and assessment, transition, remote service delivery and distance learning, (re)opening, child and family outcomes, and fiscal matters.

Reopening the Workplace: A Preliminary Guide for Employers
(April 16, 2020) | As we contemplate lifting pandemic-related workplace restrictions, employers must start considering how best to cope with issues such as restarting or expanding operations, reintegrating remote-working or furloughed employees, implementing new state and local orders/requirements, and protecting the safety of employees and customers. Employers who proactively plan for these challenges will be best positioned to adapt to the “new normal.”

Strategies For Developing A Return To Work Action Plan
(April 17, 2020) | While most of the country is subject to shutdown orders, federal and local leaders are contemplating when and how to bring people back to work. Return to work plans will vary widely, and will require employers to meet challenges unique to their workforce and geography. Given the breadth and complexity of these issuehttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-should-schools-reopen-pediatricians-offer-these-guideliness, now is the time for employers to lay the groundwork for implementing specific return to work plans.

How Should Schools Reopen? Pediatricians Offer These Guidelines
(2020, July 2) | PBS NewsHour | Pandemic or no, children learn best in an actual classroom, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a June 25 statement. Even with the best intentions to reopen, school districts can’t say for certain what’s going to happen in the coming months. The latest guidance encourages educators and parents to “be flexible and nimble in responding to new information.” But for those that make the attempt, what should school look like under the current circumstances? Have a look at the AAP guidelines, and what experts — and parents — have to say about them.

Getting Kids to School: Tackling the COVID-19 Transportation Problem
Need a roadmap? This article from Education Week is detailed, includes seating charts for buses under different circumstances, and discusses transportation staffing and guidelines.

Guidelines, Tactics, and Templates: A Reopening Plan Resource for School Transportation Professionals
(2020, July) | A Task Force formed by 3 of the leading school transportation organizations developed this 70-page guide for the school bus industry as it works to respond to the unprecedented challenges of school reopenings in the context of COVID-19.