classroom and on school buses. If schools are not able to maintain this physical distance, additional
modications should be in place, including physical barriers between desks and turning desks to
face the same direction. Each school district must also adopt cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
School staff and visitors are required to wear face coverings unless doing so would inhibit the
individual’s health or the individual is under two years of age. Students are strongly encouraged to
wear face coverings and are required to do so when social distancing cannot be maintained, unless
doing so would inhibit the student’s health. It is also necessary to acknowledge that enforcing the
use of face coverings may be impractical for young children or individuals with disabilities.
In addition to these minimum standards, the NJDOE has identied ten Critical Areas of Operation
that schools must address in their restart plans:
1. General Health and Safety Guidelines – In all stages and phases of pandemic response
and recovery, schools must comply with Center for Disease Control (CDC), state, and local
guidelines. Schools must also provide reasonable accommodations for staff and students
at higher risk for severe illness and promote behaviors that reduce spread, such as social
distancing, frequent hand washing, and the use of face coverings.
2. Classrooms, Testing, and Therapy Rooms – Schools and districts must allow for social
distancing to the maximum extent possible. When social distancing is difcult or impossible,
face coverings are required, and face coverings are always required for visitors and staff
unless it will inhibit the individual’s health. School districts must also minimize use of shared
objects, ensure indoor facilities have adequate ventilation, prepare and maintain hand
sanitizing stations, and ensure students wash hands frequently.
3. Transportation – School districts should maintain social distancing practices on buses to
the maximum extent practicable and adopt best practices for cleaning and disinfecting all
vehicles used for transporting students. If maintaining social distancing is not possible, all
students who are able must wear face coverings while on busses.
4. Student Flow, Entry, Exit, and Common Areas – School district reopening plans should
establish the process and location for student and staff health screenings. This should
include providing physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signs on walls, to
help ensure that staff and students remain at least six feet apart. When it is not possible to
maintain physical distancing, schools must require the use of face coverings.
5. Screening, PPE, and Response to Students and Staff Presenting Symptoms – School
districts must adopt a policy for safely and respectfully screening students and employees
for symptoms of and history of exposure to COVID-19. Students and staff with symptoms
related to COVID-19 must be safely and respectfully isolated from others. If a school district
becomes aware that an individual who has spent time in a district facility tests positive for
COVID-19, district ofcials must immediately notify local health ofcials, staff, and families of
a conrmed case while maintaining condentiality.
6. Contact Tracing – Contact tracing is the process used to identify those who have come
into contact with people who have tested positive for many contagious diseases, including
COVID-19. It is a long-standing practice and is an integral function of local health
departments. All school district administrators, school safety specialists, counselors, and any
other staff deemed appropriate by the school district, should be provided with information
regarding the role of contact tracing in keeping school communities safe from the spread of
contagious disease. School districts should collaborate with the local health department and
engage their school nurses to develop contact tracing policies and procedures, as well as
educate the broader school community on the importance of contact tracing.
7. Facilities Cleaning Practices – School districts must continue to adhere to existing required
facilities cleaning practices and procedures, and any new specic requirements of the local
health department as they arise. School districts must also develop a schedule for increased
routine cleaning and disinfecting, especially of frequently touched surfaces and objects, and
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nj.gov/education
New Jersey Department of Education