Keeping Students and Educators Safe in the COVID-19 Era
Aug. 20, 2020
Ask any parent or their student. Back-to-school shopping lists look a bit different this year thanks to COVID-19. In addition to backpacks, notebooks and pencils, students will be wearing masks with their new outfits and bringing hand sanitizer to class. At the same time, schools are diligently working to prepare for a new year of learning, all while taking the serious safety considerations of a pandemic into account. Whether virtual, in-person, or a hybrid of the two, it’s a back-to-school season like none we’ve ever seen before.
In years past, schools had to consider a multitude of threats. The Minnesota School Safety Center (MnSSC) assists schools in creating a safety plan for all hazards, from fires and severe weather to intruders and active shooters. This year, the MnSSC is using guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health — maintaining physical distancing and providing hand washing or sanitizing stations, for example — to protect students and staff from COVID-19.
This includes making appropriate changes to their traditional safety procedures and protocols, which may conflict with virus prevention tactics as well as the Minnesota State Fire Code and related statutes. That’s where the State Fire Marshal Division’s (SFMD) School Inspection Team comes in.
For example, despite the pandemic, schools are still required to conduct safety drills for fires, lockdowns, and severe weather such as tornadoes. The School Inspection Team continues advising schools regarding fire evacuation drills, reminding them that fire drills are still required during a pandemic. The team recommends students and staff maintain social distancing guidelines and practices during the drill.
However, schools are reminded that when there is an imminent or substantial threat to life, the response must take precedent over the health risk(s) of COVID-19. Physical distancing and masking must take a back seat when evacuations are necessary to protect lives and prevent injury.
Over the summer, the MnSSC and the SFMD have been communicating these new best practices to ensure all school partners are on the same safety page. For example, the MnSSC recently hosted a training for a group of school resource officers (SROs), where SFMD taught them about fire code requirements for exit/egress door operation, the use of security/barricade devices, and fire- and life-safety emergency planning and procedures.
Schools need a 360-degree approach to safety, especially during a pandemic. The MnSSC and SFMD know that school safety doesn’t just fall to staff and teachers, but to SROs and community first responders, as well. And they’re doing all they can to support them so that our students and educators can stay safe this school year.
