Sonoma County TK-6 Schools Eligible To Reopen —With Safety Plan

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Sonoma County schools serving transitional kindergarten through sixth grade — TK-6— may soon be able to reopen under recent changes to California’s Safe Schools for All Plan, officials said Wednesday.

Because Sonoma County's adjusted daily case rate has fallen below 25 cases per 100,000, the state will allow TK-6 schools to reopen once they have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place — as long as the county's case rate has remained below 25 cases per 100,000 residents.

"Thanks to our community’s efforts to slow the spread of the virus, schools are a step closer in a multi-step process toward reopening," said Dr. Steve Herrington, Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools. "Schools and school districts have been working hard to prepare their campuses for reopening and must now complete the COVID-19 Safety Plans newly required by the state. We are working closely with the county health department to help schools complete and have these plans approved."

The safety plan review process could take several weeks to finalize, Herrington said.

Before reopening for in-person instruction, eligible schools serving grades TK-6 are required to submit their COVID-19 Safety Plan to state and local health officials for review and approval, and to make the approved plan available online for at least five consecutive days.

These plans must detail the safety precautions a district and each of its school sites will take to ensure the safety of students and staff, including detailed testing protocols, how contact tracing will be handled, the logistics of student dropoff, room spacing, air ventilation, and much more.

TK-6 schools can reopen once their COVID-19 Safety Plan is approved and in place — as long as the county's case rate remained below 25 per 100,000 residents for five consecutive days.

The new safety plan review process only applies to schools that have not reopened under the waiver process, although all schools are required to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan posted online if they have reopened.

The county will prioritize review of COVID-19 Safety Plans for schools serving TK-6 grade levels that seek to reopen in the purple tier, health officials said.

Sonoma County is still in the most restrictive purple tier under the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which restricts other grade levels from returning to in-person learning. Once the county has been in the red tier for five consecutive days, schools serving any grade level — TK-12— can reopen.

"We’re encouraged by the revised state guidance and want to acknowledge this important milestone in our collective effort to reduce the case rate and get our children back in the classroom," said Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County's health officer. "The review process for reopening is comprehensive and takes time, but we will be working diligently to complete these reviews as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with education officials to ensure that teachers, students, and families have the confidence to reopen safely when they do return to in-person learning."