Health and Safety Plan

Section 2001(i)(1) of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act requires each local education agency (LEA) that receives funding under the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to develop and make publicly available on the LEA’s website a Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, hereinafter referred to as a Health and Safety Plan.

Each LEA must create a Health and Safety Plan that addresses how it will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff, and which will serve as local guidelines for all instructional and non-instructional school activities during the period of the LEA’s ARP ESSER grant. The Health and Safety Plan should be tailored to the unique needs of each LEA and its schools and must take into account public comment related to the development of, and subsequent revisions to, the Health and Safety Plan.

The ARP Act and U.S. Department of Education rules require Health and Safety plans include the following components:

1. How the LEA will, to the greatest extent practicable, implement prevention and mitigation policies in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the reopening and operation of school facilities in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning;
2. How the LEA will ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address the students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff members’ social, emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include student health and food services;
3. How the LEA will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff and the extent to which it has adopted policies, and a description of any such policy on each of the following safety recommendations established by the CDC:
   1. Universal and correct wearing of masks;
   2. Modifying facilities to allow for physical distancing (e.g., use of cohorts/podding);
   3. Handwashing and respiratory etiquette;
   4. Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation;
   5. Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with State and local health departments;
   6. Diagnostic and screening testing;
   7. Efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to school communities;
   8. Appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to health and safety policies; and
   9. Coordination with state and local health officials.

The ARP Act requires LEAs to review their Health and Safety Plans at least every six months during the period of the LEA’s ARP ESSER grant. LEAs also must review and update their plans whenever there are significant changes to the CDC recommendations for K-12 schools. Like the development of the plan, all revisions must be informed by community input and reviewed and approved by the governing body prior to posting on the LEA’s publicly available website.

Initial Effective Date: June 30, 2021
Date of Last Review: August 24, 2021
Date of Last Revision: April 26, 2021
Date of Last Revision: August 16, 2022
Date of Last Revision: January 3, 2023
Date of Last Revision: June 27, 2023
Date of Last Revision: November 29, 2023
Date of Last Revision: May 21, 2024

1. How will the LEA, to the greatest extent practicable, support prevention and mitigation policies in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the CDC for the reopening and operation of school facilities in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning?
    
   • The Radnor Township School District (RTSD) implemented a Health and Safety Plan throughout the 2021-2022 school year using mitigation strategies from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the PA Department of Health, CHOP PolicyLab, and Chester County Health Department. These strategies successfully supported the larger public health initiative to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to protect our community, especially those at increased risk for severe illness. RTSD also supported on-site vaccination and rapid testing clinics for our teachers, staff, and students.
     
     RTSD will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 data and guidance locally, regionally, and nationally to inform our ongoing development and implementation of mitigation strategies. This information will assist the district when reviewing our mitigation strategies for effectiveness, and will be used to revise our Health and Safety Plan as necessary.
     
     The District recognizes that additional considerations concerning mask wearing must be taken into account for medically fragile and other special needs students. For that reason, each child's IEP and 504 team must make an individualized determination as to what reasonable accommodations may be appropriate for each individual child in accordance with the requirements of IDEA, ADA, and Section 504.
      
2. How will the LEA ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address the students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff members’ social, emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include student health and food services?
    
   • Prior to the start of the 2021-2022 school year RTSD provided a virtual option, Radnor Cyber Academy, for families to consider. Programming for the summer of 2021 focused on enrichment and remediation of skill deficits for our students.

     
     For the 2021-2022 school year RTSD provided an instructional model that included full-time, in-person instruction each day. Families were also provided the option to enroll their children in Radnor Cyber Academy, a standards-aligned, fully-virtual option facilitated by PA-certified instructors. The Board also voted on June 29, 2021 to approve the 520.1 Emergency Instructional Time Plan to provide flexibility to address student needs for virtual instruction as they arose during the 2021-2022 school year. Throughout the school year students who were required to quarantine or isolate were provided the opportunity to Zoom into class to receive instruction for the duration of their quarantine/isolation period.

     RTSD increased the availability of counseling and mental health supports available to our students for the 2021-2022 school year via the expansion of our Lakeside Counseling Program. Lakeside provides clinical therapeutic counseling focused on coping strategies and emotional regulation based on individual student needs. Breakfasts and lunches also continued to be free of charge for students throughout the 2021-2022 school year, and virtual students continued to have the option to pick-up meals on a regular basis.

     For the 2022-2023 school year RTSD will continue to ensure that all students receive an education that meets state and federal standards and have the necessary supports for success, including access to technology and connectivity. The administration will monitor and address academic, social, emotional, mental health and other needs of our students and employees as warranted.
      

3. Expand the accordion menu below to learn how the LEA will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff and the extent to which it has adopted policies, and a description of any such policy on each of the following safety recommendations established by the CDC.