• The BISD Health Screening Tool will be posted at main entrances of all BISD facilities.
  
  
• Parents/guardians are expected to screen their students for COVID-19 symptoms each day before arriving at school using the BISD Health Screening Tool and keep their child at home if they are ill or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
  
  
• Staff are expected to screen themselves for COVID-19 symptoms each day before arriving at a BISD facility using the BISD Health Screening Tool.
  
  

• Students and staff who have been tested for COVID-19 must remain home while waiting for their results even if they have no symptoms.
  
  

• Belton ISD will focus on health education and daily self-screening reminders that will occur every day in every student’s first class before instruction begins. These age-appropriate self-screening reminders will teach students what to watch out for and how they can report when they are feeling ill when at home or at school.
  
  

• Belton ISD will perform daily temperature checks on pre-kindergarten students and students in our vulnerable populations who may not be able to verbalize when they are ill.
  
  

• Students with a temp over 100 degrees or reporting other illness symptoms will be escorted to trained personnel for further evaluation. The student will be allowed to wait at least 20 minutes between readings away from the initial screening and then their temperature will be re-taken. If the temperature is confirmed, the student will be excluded from school and parents will be given instructions on when the student can return to school. The student will be provided classroom instruction as an intermittent remote learner until they are able to return to school.
  
  

• Teachers and staff will be trained to recognize symptoms of illness and will have thermometers available so they can respond rapidly to any student who is feeling ill.
  
  

• Students showing signs and symptoms of illness will be isolated and assessed by the school nurse/trained personnel to determine if they need to go home.

Visitors will be screened at each campus reception area using the BISD Health Screening Tool. Only visitors essential to school operations will be allowed on campus. Essential visitors include guest educators, contractors, emergency and security personnel, mail deliveries and others determined by the campus administration.

Parent/teacher meetings should be held virtually, when possible. When in-person meetings are essential, visitors must complete the screening tool, wear masks and adhere to physical distancing requests.

Masks, covering the nose and mouth, or full face shields are required for staff, students and visitors to Belton ISD facilities or those utilizing district transportation. The mask must cover the nose and mouth.

Students, staff and visitors should have a mask or face shield when they arrive each day. The district will have a limited supply of disposable and reusable masks for those who do not have their own.

Teachers will present wearing masks and face shields as part of their classroom expectations and incorporate non-punitive strategies to encourage students to properly wear them. Parents are expected to support this requirement.

When students cannot wear a mask or face shield due to documented health or developmental reasons, teachers will be trained in using other mitigating measures such as maximizing the space between desks and more frequent hand washing. Staff will collaborate with parents on a plan that considers the health and safety needs of the student, their classmates and staff.

Students and staff are expected to wash hands according to CDC guidelines and with greater frequency. Staff will provide age-appropriate training on proper handwashing technique and will ensure more opportunities to do so. The district will also provide portable hand washing stations at all campuses to facilitate handwashing opportunities. Handwashing is expected after recess, before eating and following restroom use.

Students and staff are expected to use hand sanitizer upon entry to the classroom and periodically during the day. To facilitate this, hand sanitizer will be available at main entrances and exits, in each classroom, at cafeteria entrances, and common spaces.

Staff will be trained on appropriate use of classroom sanitizing and disinfecting products. These products will be available in classrooms and common learning spaces so that staff can frequently clean surfaces and shared objects

Campus staff will provide age-appropriate training at the beginning of school and on an ongoing basis to students on the following:

• Importance of staying home when sick
• Proper way to wash hands
• Proper way to use hand sanitizer
• Procedures for sanitizing student devices, mobile phones and shared items
• Proper ways to contain sneezes and coughs
• Proper use of face coverings and importance of not touching your face

“Stop The Spread” and “Do Your Part” materials will be displayed in classrooms and common campus areas.

Custodial staff will continue to receive specialized training led by Health Services staff to ensure a full understanding of best practices for sanitization and disinfection. Additional cleaning efforts include:

• Each classroom and common area will be disinfected daily or as needed.
  
  
• Restrooms, clinics and athletic areas will be disinfected twice or more times per day.
  
  
• Areas impacted by illness will be immediately disinfected before students and staff are allowed to return.
  
  
• The cafeteria and all areas used for dining will be disinfected between each use and at the end of the last dining period.
  
  
• Disinfecting misters and foggers will be used by custodial and other trained staff at appropriate times and locations.

In an effort to use district HVAC systems to potentially mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we will:

• Implement use of MERV 13 filter.
• Increase the frequency of filter changes.
• Increasing setting to allow for the highest capacity of outside air.
• Program runtime schedules of air handling units to run more frequently for increased air circulation and filtration.

Each campus is staffed by a registered nurse with designated clinic space to provide care for both well and sick students. These measures are also in place:

• Designated isolation areas to care for sick students.
  
  
• The use of portable screens to provide additional privacy.
  
  
• The use of portable carts for daily scheduled medication distribution.
  
  
• Alternative spaces identified to be used to maintain distancing between students in clinic care.

Each campus will provide additional health and safety measures customized to their student population and facility. Individualized, campus specific measures may include:

• Encouraging students to bring refillable water bottles to use throughout the day.
  
  
• Placing floor markers to designate 6 feet distancing.
  
  
• Staggering arrival and dismissal when possible.
  
  
• Removing non-essential furniture from classrooms to provide more space.
  
  
• Facing desks in the same direction.
  
  
• Reducing the use of shared supplies and sanitizing them between use if unavoidable.
  
  
• Propping doors open for no-touch entry between classes.
  
  
• Eliminating the use of secondary campus lockers for the fall semester.
  
  
• Utilizing outside space for instruction when appropriate and possible.
  
  
• Reimagining assemblies and large group gatherings.

Teachers will be assigned exclusively to At-School Learning classrooms to help streamline their planning and relationship-building with students and families.

It is our intention students will stay with this teacher through any COVID-related changes during the school year. For example, we anticipate At-School learners could experience short-term learning at home due to illness, quarantine or temporary school closure. During these times, At-School learners will temporarily shift to remote learning using online learning platforms while remaining with their assigned At-School teacher and schedule. Teachers will be available to answer questions and provide feedback to these intermittent remote learners.

Attendance for At-School learners will remain an expectation to support exceptional learning goals, in accordance with state compulsory attendance policies. For At-School learners who shift into intermittent remote learning due to illness, quarantine or temporary building closure, attendance will be calculated based on daily engagement and/or contact with campus administration and teaching staff. Providing appropriate documentation of a verified absence will be required for state attendance and truancy compliance.

Clarification added 11/19/20:

• At-School learners must be at school to be counted present.
• When At-School learners are absent, documentation such as a note from a parent or doctor is required to determine if the absence is excused.
• If a student has been excluded from attending school in person by the school nurse or other campus administrator for COVID-19-related reasons, the student will shift into remote learning and attendance will be determined based on daily engagement and/or contact with the teacher.
• If a building is temporarily closed for COVID-19 reasons, all students will shift into remote learning and attendance will be determined based on daily engagement and/or contact with the teacher.
• A COVID-19 exclusion authorized by the school nurse or other campus administrator or a temporary building closure for COVID-19 reasons are the ONLY ways an At-School student can be counted “present” as a remote learner and only if he or she meets the daily engagement and/or contact with the teacher requirements.
• Being an At-School or At-Home learner is not a daily choice. Families should coordinate with campus staff to consider changes between learning environments.

Example: At-School learners will not be counted ‘present’ if they miss school but complete remote work while on a family vacation. 

Example: At-School learners will not be counted ‘present’ if they miss school because they didn’t feel like attending, even if they complete remote work for the day.

Revised procedures for arrival and dismissal will be determined and communicated by each campus. The campus administration teams are best suited to evaluate and execute plans that enhance established traffic flow safety patterns with physical distancing and other prevention and mitigation strategies. Parents should be prepared for possible delays or adjustments to previously established procedures.

Afterschool Programs

Childcare programs with YMCA and The Zone are slated to resume on site when Belton ISD opens for in-person learning.

Below you will find sample schedules by school level and potential scenarios from the System Response Guide.

Middle schools and high schools will implement a year-long change across all scenarios to a block schedule as a prevention and mitigation strategy to reduce the number of hallway transitions during the day.

At-School Elementary School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 3 / En español

At-School Elementary School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 4 / En español

At-School Elementary School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 5 / En español

At-School Middle School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 3 / En español

At-School Middle School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 4 / En español 

At-School Middle School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 5 / En español

At-School High School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 3 / En español

*At-School High School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 4 / En español

At-School High School – Sample Schedule – Scenario 5 / En español

*Special Populations: Under Scenario 4, high school students in Functional Academics, Life SKills, AIMS or Delta will have the opportunity to attend school four days a week.

Additional cleaning measures and procedures will be implemented on buses to ensure safety for students and staff. These include:

• Face coverings are required when on the bus.
  
  
• Students will sit in assigned seats.
  
  
• Hand sanitizer will be available upon boarding and unboarding the bus.
  
  
• Staff will have access to disinfectant to clean as needed.
  
  
• Commonly touched surfaces will be sanitized between groups of bus riders.
  
  
• Buses will be disinfected at the end of each day.

Campuses will be able to customize their approach to meal service based on their total student population and available space with the goal to limit cafeteria capacity using alternate schedules or dispersed seating. Other safety measures that will be implemented include:

• Cafeteria staff will wear face coverings and gloves.
  
  
• Meals will be distributed in disposable containers.
  
  
• No a la carte items will be available.
  
  
• Staff will distribute drink selections.
  
  
• No cash transactions will be allowed. Payment can be made into student accounts online, by mail or in person on campus at designated times.
  
  
• Point of Sale for each meal at each campus will be scanned and hands free.