Memorandum To: Chairs of District School Boards

Directors of Education
School Authorities

From: Stephen Lecce

Minister

Nancy Naylor
Deputy Minister

Thank you for your continued commitment to supporting students as we plan for the
2020-21 school year. The health, safety and well-being of students and staff remains
our top priority as we plan to reopen schools.

As we look ahead to September, we know how critical school reopening is for Ontario’s
students and families.

On June 19, 2020, we released Ontario’s Approach to Reopening Schools for the 2020-
21 School Year. The approach was designed to be flexible and responsive to the most
current advice provided by the COVID-19 command table and Ontario’s Chief Medical
Officer of Health. Since that time, the public health data has changed considerably, with
daily confirmed cases significantly declining. This is a positive public health
development, and the ministry is now in a position to release direction and guidance to
support the reopening of schools.

The guidance and requirements outlined here [INSERT LINK] build on the guidance
released on June 19th and will continue to be re-evaluated regularly and, where
required, updated on the basis of public health advice.

Approach to Reopening Elementary Schools

This September, all elementary schools in the province will open for conventional in-
person delivery of teaching and instruction, five days a week. This applies to all
Kindergarten to Grade 8 students. Parents will continue to have the option to opt their
children out of in-person delivery, which respects the fundamental role of parents in
determining whether they feel safe with their children returning to school.
Elementary schools will be expected to adopt new timetables that cohort students into a
single class to the greatest extent possible. A range of health and safety measures will
be required, including the adoption of masks for students from Grade 4 to 12.

1
Approach to Reopening Secondary Schools

All school boards will be required to adopt timetabling methods that emphasize
cohorting of students as much as possible, to limit the number of direct and indirect
student-to-student contacts.
Secondary schools in school boards designated by the province will open on an
adapted model, with class cohorts of approximately 15 students, in alternate schedules
that would represent in person attendance for at least 50% of instructional days such as
attending on alternate days.
Secondary schools in non-designated school boards will be permitted to open with
conventional delivery, with enhanced health and safety protocols. Secondary schools in
these boards typically have fewer students, and fewer using public transit, both of which
are likely to reduce the risk of spread. These boards are also located in regions of the
province that have minimal active COVID-19 cases.
This direction will be reviewed regularly by the province in consultation with public
health officials throughout September, and these boards will be supported in
transitioning to daily attendance models as soon as it is safe to do so.
[INCLUDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON DESIGNATED BOARDS AND
PROCESS– MED]

Protection Strategies

Building on the health and safety guidance released on June 19, 2020, school boards
will be expected to employ multiple strategies, informed by public health advice and
jurisdictional research, to ensure schools are healthy and safe environments for
students and staff. Please refer to the attached guidelines.

The attached guidelines include information on procedures to follow if a student or staff

member becomes ill while at school. The ministry will also be providing detailed
procedures for a variety of other scenarios prior to the start of school. Boards are
expected to provide training for staff so that they are familiar with roles and
responsibilities and processes to follow in the event of illness within the school
community.

The province will be introducing a new School Health Monitoring System, through a
partnership between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and local public
health units. The province will expand the capacity of public health to test, track and
support any member of a school community that may test positive for COVID19. This
capacity will also allow for substantial surveillance testing wherever community
transmission may pose a risk to school communities. There will be a proportional

2
investment in lab capacity to ensure timely processing of tests. Process protocols are
being finalized to ensure clear roles and responsibilities of all parties, and all school
staff will receive training on the new health monitoring system.

Under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, principals are required to report any
suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school to the local public health
unit. We will also be requiring boards to report any suspected or confirmed cases to the
ministry on a daily basis. A new online reporting tool for that purpose will be developed.

While we are hopeful based on the trends we are seeing across the province, we
continue to need to be prepared for every possible scenario. To support the health and
safety of our students, staff and all Ontarians, school boards will continue to be required
to implement their adapted delivery and remote learning in case they are needed this
Fall.

The province announced a substantial set of investments to support the

reopening of schools. These investments will be outlined in a B memo that will
be shared with school boards in the near future.

Thank you once again for your flexibility and willingness to work together to support
Ontario’s students.

Sincerely,

Stephen Lecce Nancy Naylor

Minister Deputy Minister

3
 Memorandum To: Chairs of District School Boards
Directors of Education
School Authorities

From: Stephen Lecce

Minister

Nancy Naylor
Deputy Minister

Thank you for your continued commitment to supporting students as we plan for the
2020-21 school year. The health, safety and well-being of students and staff remains
our top priority as we plan to reopen schools.

As we look ahead to September, we know how critical school reopening is for Ontario’s
students and families.

On June 19, 2020, we released Ontario’s Approach to Reopening Schools for the 2020-
21 School Year. The approach was designed to be flexible and responsive to the most
current advice provided by the COVID-19 command table and Ontario’s Chief Medical
Officer of Health. Since that time, the public health data has changed considerably, with
daily confirmed cases significantly declining. This is a positive public health
development, and the ministry is now in a position to release direction and guidance to
support the reopening of schools.

The guidance and requirements outlined here [INSERT LINK] build on the guidance
released on June 19th and will continue to be re-evaluated regularly and, where
required, updated on the basis of public health advice.

Approach to Reopening Elementary Schools

This September, all elementary schools in the province will open for conventional in-
person delivery of teaching and instruction, five days a week. This applies to all
Kindergarten to Grade 8 students. Parents will continue to have the option to opt their
children out of in-person delivery, which respects the fundamental role of parents in
determining whether they feel safe with their children returning to school.
Elementary schools will be expected to adopt new timetables that cohort students into a
single class to the greatest extent possible. A range of health and safety measures will
be required, including the adoption of masks for students from Grade 4 to 12.

1
Approach to Reopening Secondary Schools

All school boards will be required to adopt timetabling methods that emphasize
cohorting of students as much as possible, to limit the number of direct and indirect
student-to-student contacts.
Secondary schools in school boards designated by the province will open on an
adapted model, with class cohorts of approximately 15 students, in alternate schedules
that would represent in person attendance for at least 50% of instructional days such as
attending on alternate days.
Secondary schools in non-designated school boards will be permitted to open with
conventional delivery, with enhanced health and safety protocols. Secondary schools in
these boards typically have fewer students, and fewer using public transit, both of which
are likely to reduce the risk of spread. These boards are also located in regions of the
province that have minimal active COVID-19 cases.
This direction will be reviewed regularly by the province in consultation with public
health officials throughout September, and these boards will be supported in
transitioning to daily attendance models as soon as it is safe to do so.
Boards will also work to provide opportunities for students to remain at school five days
a week, even if it is not their assigned in-class instructional day. By utilizing a ‘study hall’
model (and leveraging existing infrastructure and space within schools), boards should
enable all students to attend school on a daily basis. During this time, students would be
able to complete their out-of-class learning requirements, and use broadband and
existing technology within schools to participate in synchronous learning offered during
this time.
[INCLUDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON DESIGNATED BOARDS AND
PROCESS– MED]

The designation of some school boards by the province for reopening on an adapted Formatted: Font: 12 pt
model is based on several factors that take into account the size of the school board,
the number and size of the board’s secondary schools, the size of secondary grade
cohorts and whether the board is predominantly urban. Co-terminous boards have also
been designated wherever these criteria are met.

This will allow for a staged approach to reopening secondary schools. The designation
status of school boards will be reviewed regularly to support a future transition into a
conventional delivery model when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Protection Strategies

2
Building on the health and safety guidance released on June 19, 2020, school boards
will be expected to employ multiple strategies, informed by public health advice and
jurisdictional research, to ensure schools are healthy and safe environments for
students and staff. By bundling multiple different risk mitigation strategies, this will
ensure that students and staff have multiple safeguards in place to prevent viral
transmission. Please refer to the attached guidelines.

The attached guidelines include information on procedures to follow if a student or staff

member becomes ill while at school. The ministry will also be providing detailed
procedures for a variety of other scenarios prior to the start of school. Boards are
expected to provide training for staff so that they are familiar with roles and
responsibilities and processes to follow in the event of illness within the school
community.

The province will be introducing a new School Health Monitoring System, through a
partnership between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and local public
health units. The province will expand the capacity of public health to test, track and
support any member of a school community that may test positive for COVID19. This
capacity will also allow for substantial surveillance testing wherever community
transmission may pose a risk to school communities. There will be a proportional
investment in lab capacity to ensure timely processing of tests. Process protocols are
being finalized to ensure clear roles and responsibilities of all parties, and all school
staff will receive training on the new health monitoring system.

Under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, principals are required to report any
suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school to the local public health
unit. We will also be requiring boards to report any suspected or confirmed cases to the
ministry on a daily basis. A new online reporting tool for that purpose will be
developedused.

While we are hopeful based on the trends we are seeing across the province, we
continue to need to be prepared for every possible scenario. To support the health and
safety of our students, staff and all Ontarians, school boards will continue to be required
to implement theirprepare for adapted delivery and remote learning in case they are
needed this Fall.

The province announced a substantial set of investments to support the

reopening of schools. These investments will be outlined in a B memo that will
be shared with school boards in the near future.

Thank you once again for your flexibility and willingness to work together to support
Ontario’s students.

Sincerely,

3
Stephen Lecce Nancy Naylor
Minister Deputy Minister