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Fine Print: How health and safety guidelines for schools have been revised
April 29, 2021: Teacher Jennifer Roman, right, works with her second grade students at Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City.
Title: “The Road Forward: Health & Safety Guidance for the 2021-2022 School Year (Updated August 2021)”

What the guidelines cover: The initial guidelines for schools from the state Department of Health were released last year, covering all aspects of schools’ response to the pandemic, from social distancing to masking. The latest revisions came out Friday, mostly tweaking the previous rules.

What’s new: Schools have long clamored for greater guidance from the state. But there is little here that is new or surprising, with the revised guidelines mostly following the latest word from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And this edition provides maybe the last revisions before school districts open in the coming weeks. It also comes as Gov. Phil Murphy has already announced significant mandates that include universal masking for all students and staff and a vaccinate-or-test ...
... mandate for staff.

In a nutshell: The biggest addition in the latest revisions is the masking mandate that Murphy announced two weeks ago, including its exemptions for health reasons and others. The revisions also provide greater detail on social distancing and contact tracing.

Murphy’s warning: The governor at his weekly media briefing Monday addressed some districts, including in his home county of Monmouth, that are saying they will defy the masking order. “I’m aware, including some in my own backyard, and I will say that we will not look kindly upon that, and we’ll take appropriate action in response,” he said.

Three feet with leeway: The guidelines continue to be flexible on the issue of social distancing in the classroom and outside, saying that a 3-foot distance is optimal but also leaving plenty of leeway for less than 3 feet depending on the circumstances.

“During periods of low or moderate community transmission, [districts] should implement physical distancing recommendations to the maximum degree that allows them to offer full in-person learning,” the document read. “During periods of high community transmission, if maximal social distancing recommendations cannot be maintained, [districts] should prioritize other prevention measures including screening testing and cohorting.”

Before the new vaccination mandate: The revisions came out three days before Murphy announced that he would also require COVID-19 vaccination of all school staff from preschool to 12th grade, as well as all state employees. But even so, the revised guidance does emphasize that schools should press both staff and students to be vaccinated against the disease.

“Many school-aged children missed recommended vaccines over the last year due to disruptions associated with COVID-19. [Districts] should review and consider the CDC resources that may be helpful in addressing low coverage in children and preparing for a safe return to school. [Districts] are encouraged to send reminders to families about school immunization requirements and follow up with families of children who are not in compliance with requirements and encourage compliance.”

Quarantining: Among the biggest questions still to be answered is the extent of quarantining that students will have to go through in the case of COVID-19 outbreaks and whether schools would be forced back into remote instruction for those students.

The latest revisions leave unchanged a byzantine process that recommends different numbers of required quarantine days depending on the rates of infection in the school and the broader community. In most cases, these are in the seven-day to 14-day range. But the revised guidance does raise the prospect of remote instruction for these students.

“If a [district] is required to exclude a student, group of students, a class, or multiple classes … while the school itself remains open for in-person instruction, the [district] should be prepared to offer virtual or remote instruction to those students in a manner commensurate with in-person instruction to the extent possible.”

Murphy’s pledge: The governor on Monday stressed that even with quarantining, remote instruction will be the exception, and he will continue to require districts be predominantly in person in their instruction. “As we sit here August 23, two weeks from the go date for most schools, we’re in person,” he said.

02
Tony Brownlee to seek board of education reelection
Clear Lake Community School District Board of Education member Tony Brownlee will seek reelection in 2021.

Brownlee has served on the board of education as a director for one term, and will be seeking a second term this fall, officially submitting his candidacy on Monday.

Brownlee graduated from Central College in 2002 and graduated from Iowa State University in 2005. Brownlee is currently the president of the software development company, Kingland Systems.

Zachary Dupont covers politics and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont

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03
Tech review: Textbook example of education going digital
College students, already a prime consumer of online subscriptions to movie, audio and video services, can add another: a subscription to digital textbooks. Giant educational publisher Pearson is launching Pearson+, a subscription service offering access to its library of e-textbooks. Students can opt for a $9.99-a-month plan with access to one book or a $14.99-a-month tier with access to more than 1,500 Pearson textbooks. The price of textbooks has been skyrocketing, so the rent-a-book subscription model could save students money. EducationData.org says the average price of a print textbook is about $100, with some texts costing more than $400. About 11% of college students say they skip meals to pay for course materials.

Yelp updates COVID vaccine listings
Yelp is augmenting its COVID-19 safety features to allow restaurants and nightlife businesses to add whether they require customers to have proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Businesses can also add an "All staff fully vaccinated" statement. The review compilation site said it is adding the attributes as an increasing number of businesses implement new safety protocols because of "uncertainty surrounding the spread of the COVID delta variant."

U.S. rolls out anti-ransomware website
A new website from the federal government is aimed at stemming the surge of ransomware. StopRansomware.gov offers information on how to avoid being hit by ransomware, a cyberattack where hackers lock up a computer and demand money to decrypt files, and what to do if you are a victim. Security firm Coveware says the average ransom paid by businesses in the second quarter was $136,576.

Whole Foods adding delivery fee
Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market is tacking on a delivery fee in several cities for Amazon Prime members. Shoppers were informed of a $9.95 service fee for deliveries in the Boston and Chicago areas, as well as Manchester, New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, and Providence, Rhode Island. Delivery had been free for Prime members before this. A Whole Foods spokesperson described the delivery fee as a pilot program.

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