Aug. 7, 2020
Dear Superintendents,

I’m writing with updates on several COVID-19-related items that have come up since my last message.

County Releases Waiver Process
Please refer to the letter from the County of San Diego Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten, describing the elementary school waiver process.

All applications must be submitted using the County of San Diego Elementary School Waiver form. Directions can be found on the County of San Diego website.

Any documentation previously sent to the County of San Diego will need be resubmitted using the online form.

Please submit one application for each local educational agency or equivalent. If applying on behalf of a school district, please submit one application for the elementary schools in the district that are seeking to reopen for in-person instruction. If applying for an independent, private, faith-based, or charter school, please submit an application for each school.

Reopening Schools Timeline
The County of San Diego has clarified the timeline for reopening schools. In a nutshell, the county needs to see three days with a case rate of 100/100,000 or less to get off the watch list. When the county goes 14 days without getting back on the watch list, we can reopen in-person learning.

You can monitor the case rate by consulting item 1 on the county’s Triggers for Modifying Health Officer Order Dashboard.

Updated SDCOE Resources
The California Department of Public Health updated their COVID-19 industry guidance for schools on Aug. 3 with new guidance for sports and extracurricular activities. As a result, we have updated SDCOE's COVID-19 Prevention Plan Checklist and COVID-19 Plan for Schools Template.

Assessments
The California Department of Education and Educational Testing Service have released Suggested Guidelines for Physically Distancing Test Administration, featuring recommendations on how local education agencies (LEAs) can administer assessments with physical distancing requirements.

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has released the 2020 Back to School Assessment Playbook. The playbook describes how educators may use Smarter Balanced resources, such as tools for teachers and interim assessments, to support high-quality instruction using the formative assessment process.
LEAs may use the playbook to learn about resources that are available to support their instructional program plans. Curriculum and instructional leaders may use it as a resource to help develop plans for the assessment processes educators will use during instruction.

School Reopening Considerations for Counselors 
The California Association of School Counselors has created this resource on how administrators can best utilize their school-based mental health specialists (school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists) when reopening schools.

Thank you for all you are doing during these unprecedented times. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if I can be of assistance.

Sincerely,
Paul

Dr. Paul Gothold
San Diego County Superintendent of Schools
phone: 858-292-3514