I am writing with several updates since my last message.

A joint statement issued this week by California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón, reaffirmed the state’s approach to preventing COVID-19 in schools and protecting students’ health. View the state's press release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 for School Administrators based on the CDC’s Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools.

Please note that there are a few places where the CDC differs from the position described in the CDPH guidance for schools; in those instances, the California guidance takes precedence.

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published COVID-19 Precautions Help Make Music That’s Beautiful and Safe, an article on COVID-19 safety and music in schools. While the mitigation measures cited in the article are more specific than those required by CDPH, they represent cutting edge research from the National Federation of State High School Associations, which offers a variety of performing arts COVID-19 resources.

As a reminder, last month the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) team updated this document about visual and performing arts and COVID-19 to help teachers and administrators sort through the CDPH guidelines.

Governing boards and staff across the nation are facing increasingly disruptive and threatening behavior during public meetings and other venues. The San Diego County School Boards Association, SDCOE, and legal firm Lozano Smith partnered recently to host a webinar covering best practices and strategies for managing an orderly board meeting. Topics included proactive steps; de-escalation techniques; Brown Act compliant options, including AB 361; dealing with threats; and addressing protests on district grounds.

View the webinar materials and access a fact sheet on Best Practices for Maintaining Decorum and Order at School Board Meetings. The webinar recording will be added to this webpage when it’s available.

Thank you for all that you do. As always, please reach out if you have any questions.

email: paul.gothold@sdcoe.net