Return to Learning Plan

• Students should not arrive before school prior to the following times:
  • PreK-5: 7:35 am
  • 6th Grade: 7:40
  • 7-12: 7:55 am
  • Doors will not be opened until this time.  Do not drop your students off early as students will be unsupervised and cannot get into the building early.
  • School will begin at:
    • PreK-5: 7:45 am
    • 6th Grade - 8:00
    • 7-12: 8:10 am
• Bus riders will have assigned seating on the bus.
• Hand sanitizer will be available upon entering the building.
• Students will pick up breakfast from the cafeteria and go straight to class.
• Students who are not picking up breakfast will go straight to class.

• Per Texas Education Code (TEC) §25.092, students must attend 90% of the days a course is offered in order to be awarded credit for the course and/or to be promoted to the next grade. This remains in effect for the 2021-22 school year. 
• Students may not receive attendance credit for doing work that is posted online. While we encourage students to complete what is available to stay with the class, a student will not be marked present for completing this work.
• When available, Sanger ISD will provide parents notice of their public education enrollment and attendance rights and responsibilities using a document published by TEA. 

• Cleaning and disinfecting will occur nightly in every classroom, restroom, common area, and on high-touch surfaces.
• Every campus will have disinfectant in a spray bottle with appropriate cleaning cloths provided for employees and students to use on high-touch areas throughout the school day.
• Restrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds will undergo extensive cleaning each day.  Sanger ISD will be utilizing Electrostatic Disinfectant Sprayers as part of our procedures.

• Clinic staff and substitute clinic staff will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols.
  • Any symptom that matches COVID-19 symptoms will be treated as a potential COVID-19 infection.
• Students who come to the school health clinic showing symptoms will be required to leave on a face-covering/mask until their parent arrives to take them home.
• School Health Clinics will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
• Schools will immediately separate any students who show COVID-19 symptoms while at school until the student can be picked up by a parent or guardian.  Students will not be put on a bus to go home; they must be picked up by a parent or guardian.
• Schools will clean the areas used by the individual who shows COVID-19 symptoms while at school as soon as feasible.
• Students who report feeling feverish will be given an immediate temperature check to determine if they are symptomatic for COVID-19.
• When possible, nurses will go to a class to get students who are symptomatic for COVID-19.

Common Areas

• Common areas include spaces that are used for meetings and collaboration.  This includes computer labs, flexible spaces, libraries, conference rooms, etc. These will be open at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
• The use of virtual meetings may be considered.
• In-person meetings will maintain social distancing. 

Collaborative Work & Projects

• In order to provide the safest environment possible in our common/collaborative spaces, while promoting disease prevention and mitigation, the following guidelines will be implemented:
  • Meeting Spaces
    • Virtual meetings will be held when possible
    • If meetings must be held in person, all social distancing protocols will be implemented
  • Administrative Spaces - such as reception areas, offices, conferences, mailroom, etc
    • When possible, meetings will be conducted virtually unless there is a need for meeting in person.
    • If meeting in person:
      • Hand sanitizer will be provided when entering the building as well as in the front office space.
      • Social distancing will be provided between occupied seats and workspaces
  • Flexible Learning Spaces
    • Students and teachers will use these spaces as the work aligns with academic goals.

Sanger ISD will continue to inform stakeholders regularly as needed. The district and campuses will communicate official Sanger ISD news through email, text, or calls through our School Status communications system. We will also communicate through the schools' and district's websites and social media.

If an individual who has been in a school is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19, the district must notify the local health department in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including confidentially requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In the case of an individual who is diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may return to school per health department guidelines.

Sanger ISD will adhere to all HIPAA and FERPA laws regarding privacy.

Dismissal times are as follows:

• • PK-6: 3:25 pm
  • 7-12: 3:50 pm

Each campus will follow the guidelines listed below on how services will be conducted and what materials and/or resources will be needed during periods of online learning. 

• All services in the current 504 plan must be provided accordingly a 504 and/or ARD Amendment has occurred.
• When a campus is closed and students are receiving Online Learning, Dyslexia instructional services will be provided as outlined in their individualized plan. Provision of special education and related services during an emergency closure may occur via video conferences, telephone calls, homework packets, internet-based lessons/therapy, and/or other distance-based learning approaches. Decisions on appropriate services are made on an individualized basis. 
• To ensure communication between the campus Dyslexia therapist and parents, office hours will be shared so they know when the therapist can be reached for questions or concerns. 

Safety Procedures during On-Campus Dyslexia Instruction:
All Dyslexia services will be conducted with appropriate safety precautions as per district guidelines when on campus.

Progress Monitoring

• Service providers will need to monitor each student to ensure appropriate progress within the dyslexia program is being made along with progress on the general education curriculum and accommodations. Additional ARD/504 meetings may be necessary if a student begins to struggle and cannot remediate.
• Progress monitoring will be provided, at a minimum, once per nine-week period using appropriate progress monitoring resources.
• Student progress will be shared with parents/guardians via email or traditional mail.

The ESL and Bilingual programs will continue to follow TEA guidelines for face to face instruction and programming.

ESL Services:
ESL Teachers will support students and classroom teachers by following guidance from TEA, district administrators, and campus administrators concerning ESL student services.

Bilingual Services:
Bilingual Teachers will continue to provide high-quality bilingual education to support students in our Bilingual classrooms.

• All students will be encouraged to wash their hands after using the restroom and before eating.
• Handwashing stations are available in restrooms and some classrooms.
• Hand sanitizer stations have been added in all common areas throughout all campuses.

• Students and staff should prescreen themselves for any of the following symptoms prior to coming to school:
  • 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
  • Diarrhea
• All staff will monitor students and refer them to the clinic if symptoms are present. According to the assessment of the clinic staff, a treatment plan will be determined. Parents will be contacted to pick up students who are unable to remain at school, and the student's return to school plan will be discussed.
• Students, staff, and visitors with a fever of 100 or higher should not come to school or any Sanger ISD facility.

For the purposes of this website, "masks" include non-medical disposable face masks, cloth face coverings, or full-face shields. 

As positivity rates, new research, professional and governmental recommendations, and regulations in regards to COVID-19 change, this policy may be revised. Masks are optional for students and staff.

Staff and students will be monitored for symptoms each day.  Parents will partner with the district in this task and keep students at home when sick.  Sanger ISD will follow the guidelines from the CDC, TDSHS, Denton County Health Department, and TEA in regards to practices that will help prevent the virus from entering schools. 

All visitors are welcome to Sanger ISD. Please self-screen before coming to any of our facilities or school events.

Extracurricular participation in activities will follow local and TEA/UIL Guidelines.

• Outdoor recess will be scheduled.
• Sanger ISD will not limit the use of playground equipment unless required by federal, state, and/or local policies.

• Proper handwashing techniques will be taught to all students.
• Hand sanitizer is available to all students.

• PreK - 6 hours are 7:45 am - 3:25 pm with doors opening at 7:35 am.
• 7-12 hours are 8:10 am - 3:50 pm with doors opening at 7:55 am.
• No students will be allowed in the building before these times.

Meetings
Annual Meetings for the 2022-2023 school year will be completed by video or teleconference by the campus 504 Coordinator; all required members will be in attendance. 

Procedures for Attending a Virtual 504 meeting:
The campus 504 Coordinator will inform parents when scheduling the meeting that the meetings will be held remotely rather than in person. When a virtual meeting is not an option, the campus administrator will be consulted.

• Required 504 meetings will be scheduled between 8:00-3:30 according to campus policy and schedule. There may be some instances when a 504 meeting must be held later to ensure parent participation. Campus administration will be notified and will ensure they happen within the legal timeline.
• The campus 504 Coordinator will document those present for the meeting and discussions made in the minutes. With the permission of each individual, the 504 Coordinator will add their signature using the “type it” option. Campus administrators have access to the signature page and will provide their signatures. Parents’ agreement/disagreement will also be noted in the minutes.
• A copy of the 504 plan can be emailed after the campus 504 Coordinator receives permission from the parent through an email; otherwise, the 504 paperwork will be mailed home.

Evaluations:
Please refer to the Evaluation section in the Special Education portion of the plan.

The CDC, TDSHS, Denton County Health Department, and TEA recommended procedures will be applied to all classroom settings, including special education services locations when possible and appropriate

If campuses are closed but continue to provide educational opportunities virtually to the general student population during the closure (Online Learning), the school must ensure that students with disabilities also have access to free and appropriate public education (FAPE). The school must ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, each student with a disability can be provided the special education and related services identified in the student's individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan which has been reasonably calculated to enable the student to make appropriate progress. 

During sporadic school closures, educational opportunities/support will continue to be provided to general education and special education students remotely through virtual/distance learning.

Safety Procedures
All Special Education services will be conducted with appropriate safety precautions as per district guidelines when on campus.

ARD Meetings 
Legal requirements related to the legal timelines for initial and annual ARD meetings still apply whether we are conducting school in person or virtually. 

The ARD committee will meet by video or teleconference for the 20/21 school year; all required members must be in attendance. When virtual is not an option, the campus administrator will be consulted. 

Procedures for a Virtual ARD 

• Diagnosticians, SLPs, and/or Special Education Teachers will inform parents when scheduling the ARD that the meeting will be held remotely rather than in person.
• A link will be sent to the required members to join the ARD meeting at the scheduled time.
• ARD notices and Procedural Safeguards may be emailed to the parent.  Second and third notices may be communicated through phone calls, mailed notices, or sent home with the student.  

Evaluations

• Practices during periods of on-campus learning:
  Initial assessments, three-year re-evaluations, and requests for additional assessment will continue to be completed within required timelines while students are on campus while taking safety precautions per district guidelines.   
• Practices during periods of virtual learning:
  • Assessment personnel will gather as much data as possible virtually through student observations, online assessment when available and parent interviews, checklists, review of ECI evaluation data when available and ECI progress notes, etc.
  • If, after gathering all available data without face to face interaction, sufficient data exists to write an FIE, evaluators will complete the written report with all available assessment data. The signed written report will be shared with parents and staff. 
  • The ARD will be scheduled to review the Full and Individual Evaluation.
  • If sufficient data doesn’t exist to write a complete FIE, assessment personnel will contact the parent and discuss options. 
  • In situations in which school is closed and not in session (no virtual learning), evaluation timelines halt as these days are not considered school days. 

Instructional/Related Services

• • When students are on campus face to face, Speech, OT, PT, counseling, and special education instructional services will be provided as outlined and agreed upon in the student’s ARD paperwork.
  • All instructional and related services will be conducted with appropriate safety precautions as per district guidelines when on campus.
  • When a campus is closed and students are receiving virtual learning, Speech, OT, PT, counseling, and special education instructional services will be provided as outlined in their most current Interim Special Education Distance Learning Plan that was put in place in the spring of the 2019-20 school year.  Provision of special education and related services during an emergency closure may occur via video conferences, telephone calls, homework packets, internet-based lessons/therapy, and/or other distance-based learning approaches.  Decisions on appropriate services are made on an individualized basis.
  • Data will continue to be taken to determine if compensatory services will be needed when students are not on campus and receiving services through virtual learning.  

Progress Reports
Goals and objectives will continue to be updated every nine weeks, whether students are on campus or receiving virtual learning, this is in accordance with district policy by all providers including special education teachers, instructional and related service providers, and itinerant staff.  Updated progress reports may be emailed home to parents.

In the event of a sporadic closure, all in-person students and educators will rapidly shift to online learning and teaching. Devices will be available to those students who do not have them at home.

• Offer moral boosting activities
• Teacher appreciation days
• School spirit days

Students in need of social-emotional support will be provided tiered interventions which could involve referral for additional school-based services or referral for outside mental health. Resources will be provided to the students. Campuses will work to plan fun activities.

• Parents must ensure they do not send a child to a bus stop with COVID-19 symptoms (listed below), who has had "close contact" with an individual who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 or is lab-confirmed with COVID-19. 

  • Symptoms include:

    • 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
    • Diarrhea
• Students will be assigned a seat that they must sit in. 
• Students in the same household will be sitting near each other. 
• Students will not be able to share devices, etc. on the bus. 
• All drivers and aides will be trained thoroughly regarding health and hygiene practices as it relates to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

To begin the fall semester, Sanger ISD will be open to all events. As TEA and local guidelines change, access to events and campuses by visitors could be denied.

Water fountains have been turned on at this time. Students may continue to bring water bottles from home. Students will not be able to share water bottles and are encouraged to put their names on their water bottles. Students may fill their water bottles at school.