The PA Department of Education and the PA Department of Health jointly released public health guidance to assist Pre-K to 12 schools in developing and implementing Health and Safety Plans for safely returning to in-person instruction for the 2020-21 school year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.  The guidance provides public health standards to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 for social distancing, face coverings, hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting in Pre-K to 12 school settings. It also reflects currently endorsed public health best practices from DOH and is in response to requests from school leaders for state-level health guidance. The guidance serves as minimum standards for practices across all Pre-K to 12 schools with the understanding that more rigorous measures may be required in certain areas depending on community transmission of COVID-19.

According to PDE, the science and public health conditions surrounding COVID-19 are continually evolving and the guidance will be updated as necessary when new information becomes available. DOH will continue to monitor community transmission rates and other surveillance metrics and may, in close coordination with PDE, issue guidance related to targeted school closure as part of a wider public health mitigation strategy.

To view the guidance document on the PDE website, click here.