Fall 2020 Device Distribution/Pickup - An extended schedule with new locations, additional dates and modified times has been established for student device pickup. View the revised Fall 2020 Device Distribution Schedule operating Monday, Aug. 10 through Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 here.

Please note, although the first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 12, students who have not yet picked up their device will not be behind. As always, the start of the school year begins with making connections and establishing processes.

To see sample schedules of what your student's day will look like, please view slides 11-22 from the Fall 2020: What Will Learning Look Like board presentation. The presentation gives an overview of what instruction will look for the opening of the 2020-21 school term.

Community resources, including childcare services and remote learning center programs, are being offered as we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic. View the comprehensive list here.

Training
Campus staff will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols, and students will engage in lessons focused on hand washing and social distancing practices at the beginning of the school year. MISD will provide instruction to students the first day a student attends school on campus regarding appropriate hygiene practices and other mitigation practices.

Safety Screenings

• Staff will be self-screening daily at home before coming to work, and individuals who have symptoms throughout the day will be assessed, separated and sent home if necessary.
   
• Students will be screened by parents at home before school and monitored during the school day for symptoms of illness and will be referred to the clinic if symptoms are suspected or present.
   
• Mansfield ISD is permitted to prevent any individuals who fail the health screening criteria from being admitted to the campus until they meet criteria for re-entry to the campus.

Cleaning and Safety Precautions
Mansfield ISD custodial employees have been trained on COVID-19 safety protocols.

• MISD will use medical-grade, EPA-approved disinfectants for deep cleaning campuses on a regular and ongoing basis.
   
  • Cleaning and disinfecting will occur nightly in every classroom, restroom, commons area and on high-touch surfaces. Restrooms, cafeterias and playgrounds (when allowed for use) will undergo extensive cleaning each day.
     
  • MISD will arrange for additional cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces that are touched in common areas throughout the day, including objects such as door handles, common tables/desks, shared supplies such as art supplies, and high touch devices such as shared laptops or tablets in classrooms between different class periods.
     
  • Every classroom and office area will have disinfectant in a spray bottle with appropriate cleaning cloths/paper provided for employees and students to use on high-touch areas throughout the school day. The state recommends each school district provide students the opportunity to clean their own spaces before and after they are used in ways that are safe and developmentally appropriate.
     
• MISD will provide hand sanitizer in every classroom, common areas in the schools, on every bus and at district facilities.
   
  • Students, teachers and staff will be encouraged to sanitize and/or wash hands frequently following proper practices.
     
  • MISD will require students to use hand sanitizer before reentering the classroom after a restroom break.
     
  • Tissues will be provided in classrooms and common areas to encourage students and staff to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and if not available, to cover with their inner arms. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or hand sanitizer should be used after a cough or sneeze occurs.
     
  • MISD will implement a system to identify the number of occupants utilizing each restroom to mitigate the chance of exceeding maximum occupants per social distancing.
     
• Plexiglass shields (sneeze guards) will be added at reception areas, attendance desks, counseling and library counters.
   
• Markers outlining social distancing of 6 feet and other safety signage will be added and visible throughout school facilities.
   
• When feasible, MISD will open windows or otherwise work to improve air flow when possible.
   

Visitors / Volunteers

• Visitors to campuses will be limited to essential needs. Lunch visitors will not be permitted, including delivery of student meals.
   
• Entrances will be locked immediately after arrival times and remain locked throughout the day to help ensure effective management and safe screening of visitors. Visitors will continue to utilize the outdoor buzzer system located at the entry of every school building. Hand sanitizer will be available upon entering the building.
   
• Volunteers will be limited to essential needs and approved by school personnel prior to arriving at the school. Any volunteers scheduled for work at a campus will complete a pre-screening health survey prior to entering the school.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) and face masks will be purchased and provided for use as needed. Masks include non-medical grade disposable face masks, cloth face coverings (over the nose and mouth) or full-face shields to protect eyes, nose and mouth.

• Districts and schools are required to comply with the governor’s executive order regarding the wearing of masks for students in grades 4-12.
   
  • While under the current order of the governor, when impractical to wear masks while participating in some non-UIL athletic or other extracurricular activities, students, teachers, staff and visitors must be required to wear masks while entering, exiting, in common areas and in practice facilities/areas when not actively engaging in those activities.
     
• Students who are actively exercising may remove masks, as long as they maintain at least 6 feet of distance from other students, teachers and staff. However, schools must require students, teachers and staff to wear masks as they arrange themselves in positions that will allow them to maintain safe distancing.
   
• When not under the governor’s executive order regarding the wearing of masks, unless impractical for the activity at the time, face masks will be worn by all MISD employees at all times unless alone in a room, in an office, on a bus, etc.
   
  • If and when MISD is not under the governor’s executive order regarding the wearing of masks, protective measures, including the use of face coverings, will be determined by the level of confirmed COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 activity level categories are being created, and the district will develop a process to alert students, parents and staff of the activity levels and when and where face coverings must be worn.

All students and staff will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms regularly, and individuals who present with symptoms will be separated and sent home.

Student Screening

• Students will be screened by parents at home before school and monitored during the school day for symptoms of illness and will be referred to the clinic if symptoms are suspected or present.
   
• Teachers will monitor students and refer to the nurse if symptoms are present. (Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, loss of taste or smell, cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, headache, chills, sore throat, shaking or exaggerated shivering, significant muscle pain or aches and/or diarrhea are all among the range of symptoms people who have COVID-19 experience. For the latest symptom list, visit the CDC Symptoms of Coronavirus web page.)

Staff Screening

• Teachers and staff will self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms before coming to campus each day.
   
• Teachers and staff must report to the school system if they themselves have COVID-19 symptoms, are lab confirmed with COVID-19, and/or if they have had close contact with an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19.
   
• Employees who do not work on a campus will adhere to the same procedures.

Visitor Screening

• Visitors to campuses will be limited to essential needs on the campus.
   
  • Lunch visitors will not be permitted.
     
• When possible, campuses will utilize virtual meeting options to limit campus visitors. All visitors who enter the building will be required to follow the health and safety protocols of the district, including wearing a face covering when posted.
   
• All visitors must be screened to determine if they have COVID-19 symptoms (as listed above) or are lab-confirmed with COVID-19; and if so, they must remain off campus until they meet the criteria for re-entry as noted below. When practical, screening questions could be supplemented with temperature checks of adults.
   
• Individuals who proceed beyond the reception area will follow all guidelines for visitors including physical distancing.

School Arrival

• Early bird arrivals are strongly discouraged. Any students dropped off before the building is open may not be allowed inside the building. Any exceptions would need to be specifically arranged with campus administration.
   
• Separate entrances will be utilized for car riders, bus riders and walkers.
   
• Increased morning (AM) duty may be needed to maintain a line of sight in hallways and distancing of hallway cohorts.
   
• Parents will not be allowed to walk students to classrooms.
   
• There will be bus procedures based on campus specific needs.

School Movement/Transitioning Between Classes

• When possible, one-way traffic throughout campus corridors will be established.
   
• Walking pathways throughout the building as well as entrance and exit doors will be designated with clear signage (i.e. “stay to the right”).
   
• Where feasible, secondary school administrations may facilitate student transition outside of the building with monitoring.

School Dismissal

• Sibling connections will be done outside the building.
   
• Campuses will designate staggered dismissal groups. Staggering the groups of walkers, car riders, bus riders and daycare students will help manage student movement in the building and decrease the risk of potential crowding outside at dismissal time. 
   
• Separate entrances will be utilized for car riders, bus riders and walkers.
   
• Bus procedures will be based on specific campus needs.

Where feasible without disrupting the educational experience, students are encouraged to practice social distancing. As much as instructionally possible, MISD will place student desks a minimum of six feet apart.

Classroom Safety

• In classrooms where students are regularly within 6 feet of one another, MISD will plan / encourage for more frequent hand washing and/or hand sanitizing and will consider whether increased airflow from the outdoors is possible.
   
• Group or pair work can be implemented while maintaining as much physical distancing as possible.
   
• Teachers will consider assigning cohorts of students’ specific instructional materials in order to reduce the possibility of exposure or consider creating individual bags of supplementary aids and/or manipulatives for student use that could also be sent home in the event of school closure.
   
• When possible, technology can be utilized when the use of hands-on teaching tools are needed.
   
• Whenever possible, students and staff will maintain consistent groupings of people to minimize the spread of the virus.
   
• Physical education classes will be conducted outdoors whenever possible. Appropriate social distancing measures will be followed>
   
• Music and P.E. equipment will be sanitized and wiped down after each use.
   
• The recommended procedures will be applied to all classroom settings, including special education services locations when possible and appropriate. Students’ individual needs will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Cafeteria Safety
Mansfield ISD plans to utilize the school cafeteria for student meals at lunch time. No parents or visitors will be allowed during lunch.

• Cafeteria staff will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols.
   
• When feasible, cafeteria tables will be 6 feet apart, and students will social distance in the line and while seated.
   
• Staff will consider ways to expand the cafeteria and where students eat.
   
• Seats, tables, door handles and high-touch areas will be disinfected between lunch periods/use.
   
• Classes will go to lunch on a staggered schedule as much as possible to minimize the number of students in the cafeteria each period. The campus may add a lunch period to reduce the number of students in each lunch period as well.

Use of Other Non-Classroom Spaces and Common Spaces
Knowing that one size does not fit all, each campus will determine the use of each space and what will work for the individual campus.

• When feasible and appropriate, if it is preferable for students to gather outside, rather than inside, because of likely reduced risk of virus spread outdoors. Classes must stay 12’ feet apart.
   
• As feasible and appropriate, the campus must plan for entry, exit, and transition procedures that reduce large group gatherings in close proximity.
   
• As feasible and appropriate, staggering bells, lunches, dismissal, etc. should occur.
   
• Assemblies, pep rallies and other activities that bring large groupings of students and/or teachers and staff together should be eliminated.
   
• Campuses will develop schedules and protocols for the use of common areas, including how to sanitize space between use. When needed, students will bring personal supplies from the classroom. All students and staff will be required to use hand sanitizer when entering and exiting common areas.
   
  • Common areas include spaces that are used for meetings and collaboration, such as computer labs, flexible spaces, campus libraries, conference rooms and other meeting rooms.
     
• The use of virtual meetings will be considered when possible.
   
• In-person meeting participants will maintain social distancing. Facial coverings will be required unless otherwise approved.

Lockers / Cubbies
Students will be encouraged to use backpacks instead of hallway lockers and cubbies to help ensure social distancing/space between students occurs. A locker may be checked out to an individual student upon request. 

Recess

• Campuses will consider limiting the number of students per recess group. Staggered schedules can be utilized when needed.
   
• All students and staff will be required to use hand sanitizer before entering the playground and upon exiting the playground.
   
• Brain breaks and mask breaks will be implemented, as needed, at the discretion of the campus/teacher following health and safety protocols.

Elective Classes

• Physical education classes will be conducted outdoors whenever possible. Appropriate social distancing measures will be followed.
   
• Music and P.E. equipment will be sanitized and wiped down after each use.

On and Off-Campus Student Activities

• Virtual field trips will be considered as often as possible. Off-campus field trips might be scheduled as appropriate to meet curricular needs while maintaining proper social distancing requirements.
   
• PTA event and fundraising information is pending and will be provided by the campus.
   
• After-school club information is pending and will be provided by the campus.

Campus Events

• No in-person assemblies will be held in the fall. (Meet the teacher, open house, parent conferences, etc. will be held virtually.)

NEW! | During remote online learning, healthy and delicious meals will be available through our weekly curbside service to all MISD students. Get details here.

MISD is dedicated to nourishing our students to give them the energy they need for each school day in a safe and healthy environment. Mansfield ISD plans to utilize the school cafeteria for student meals at lunch time. Students who need breakfast will be able to purchase a “grab and go” meal to eat in their classrooms. Teachers will monitor in the cafeteria and hallways to ensure social distancing. No parents or visitors will be allowed during lunch.

• Classes will go to lunch on a staggered schedule as much as possible to minimize the number of students in the cafeteria each period. The campus may add a lunch period to reduce the number of students in each lunch period as well. 
   
• Students will walk down the serving line in a spaced-out fashion. There will be indicators on the floor for where each child should stand while waiting to order. Hand sanitizer will be offered as the student exits the lunch line.
   
• Servers will be placing everything on the plate, and students may decline up to two out of five components or take all five. Snacks and beverages will still be available for a la carte sales, but salad bars, self-serve stations and bulk condiment bottles will not be available this year.
   
• The fall menu will include lean protein, whole grains, fruit, vegetables and choice of milk. The menus will be available online, and we will send home a printed grid for the younger grade levels every month.
   
• Meals will be served on a traditional compartment tray or be packaged in a box to be brought back to the classroom to consume if campuses choose to eat in the classroom. Seats, tables, door handles and high-touch areas will be disinfected between lunch periods/use for those that will stay in the cafeteria.
   

All Nutrition workers will take their temperature with an on-site contactless thermometer and a health-screening questionnaire prior to clocking in for the day. If any staff member has symptoms, he/she will not be allowed to work.

• Workers will wear a mask during their shift and will wear a mask plus face shield during the service period.
   
• Staff wear single-use gloves for all food preparation, serving, and cashier tasks. We change gloves and wash hands with soap and water in between all tasks.
   
• The team is trained to keep physically distanced during prep and service as much as possible.
   
• Workers will practice frequent hand washing. The team also has an EcoLab disinfectant at every campus. Hand sanitizer is in place in all kitchens as an extra layer of safety.
   

MISD Student Nutrition Services highly encourages prepayments this year instead of bringing cash/check to school. A new prepayment system is being introduced this year called SchoolCafe (formerly MySchoolBucks.com). For more information, visit the Meal Payment System page.

Mansfield ISD will provide bus transportation for all students meeting the eligibility requirements for transportation.

• Bus drivers will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols.
   
• Drivers will be required to wear a face covering/mask at all times when anyone else is on the bus.
   
• Hand sanitizer will be supplied and available on every bus.
   
• When possible, drivers should open windows to allow outside air to circulate in the bus.
   
• Families are strongly encouraged to drop students off, carpool or walk with their student to school to reduce possible contact on buses.
   
• Seats, handles, and high-touch areas will be thoroughly cleaned at the end of morning runs and at the end of the evening runs utilizing EPA-approved disinfectants, focusing on high-touch surfaces such as bus seats, steering wheels, knobs and door handles. During cleaning, windows should be opened to allow for additional ventilation and air flow.
   
• Each bus/route will be limited to one student per seat when feasible or two students from the same household in order to encourage social distancing.
   
• Bus riders will be encouraged to sit apart from one another and will be required to sit facing the front of the bus, keeping their hands to themselves.

Mansfield ISD will immediately separate any student who shows COVID-19 symptoms and remove that student from the classroom. Remaining students will be relocated to a safe area with the teacher while the room is cleaned and the school nurse contacts Health Services.

Campus Procedures for Confirmed and/or Suspected Cases
When a student or staff member has displayed symptoms of COVID-19, the school nurse will provide a clinical assessment to determine if and when a student needs to be sent home.

• Students who are ill will be separated from their peers and should be picked up within 30 minutes (no later than 1 hour) from the time the campus contacts the student's parent/guardian. A room on each campus, outside of the school clinic, will be dedicated for ill students or staff members who need to be isolated while waiting to be picked up by a family member.
   
• Other students will be removed from the classroom and taken to an alternate location on campus so that the classroom can be disinfected.
   
• The district will notify its local health department, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Notification must follow confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
   
• Consistent with other communicable diseases and legal requirements, schools must notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students and/or staff in a district facility of a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case. 
   
• Students and staff members displaying COVID-19 symptoms will follow district protocols including isolation from students and other staff members. Students or staff who come into close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual will be asked to self-quarantine for a minimum of 14 days and may not return to campus during that time.

Re-Entry Protocols for Confirmed and/or Suspected Cases
Any individuals who themselves either: (a) are lab-confirmed to have COVID-19; or (b) experience the symptoms of COVID-19 (listed below) must stay at home throughout the infection period, and cannot return to campus until the school system screens the individual to determine any of the following conditions for campus re-entry have been met.

In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may return to school when all three of the following criteria are met:

1. at least three days (72 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications);
    
2. the individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and
    
3. at least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has completed the same three-step set of criteria for a diagnosed COVID-19 patient.

If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to school before completing the re-entry steps have been met, the individual must obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis.