Friday, August 07, 2020

DOE SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY ALMOST MANDATES A SICKOUT

We once again are indebted to Jonathan Halabi for posting a New York City Department of Education document. This one is called the COVID-19 School Health Policy. We can scream and yell at UFT President Michael Mulgrew for giving away our Contract without a vote, but no, I want to look at what the DOE and UFT negotiated in terms of health positively right now. If we analyze the COVID-19 School Health Policy very carefully, it is practically mandating that UFTers and students stay home unless they are feeling 100% perfectly well. What do I mean?

From the middle of page 1: 

Daily Health Screenings                                                                                                                              Daily health screenings, including temperature checks, must be completed at home by families and by school-based staff. 

If I read this properly, students and staff must complete a home screening before going to school. What should we check for according to the DOE?

School-based staff and students cannot report to school if they have:

• Been knowingly in close or proximate contact in the past 14 days with anyone who has tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 or who has or had symptoms of COVID-19.

• Tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

• Experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, including a temperature of greater than 100.0°F, in the past 14 days. 

• Traveled internationally or from a state with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 per the New York State Travel Advisory in the past 14 days. 

You are not permitted to report to school if you traveled to a state with widespread community transmission. If New Jersey is on that list as of Labor Day, I volunteer to lead a caravan of UFTers to NJ. You will then all be mandated to stay home for 14 days. Is anybody up for the trip?

If all of you don't want to go to the Garden State, Bullet 3 might be of interest to you. It states that staff and students "cannot report to school if they have...experienced any symptoms of COVID-19..." What are those symptoms? Later in the School Health Policy on page 3, the DOE elaborates:

The nurse or health professional will evaluate the student for symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, lack of sense of taste or smell, and other symptoms. 

Let me see if I have this straight: If you have a fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or loss of sense of taste or smell, then you cannot report to school (DOE's words, not mine). Bullet 1 states that you only have to be in close contact with someone who has had symptoms of COVID-19. You may be fine but someone close to you may have exhibited some symptoms so stay home for two weeks. 

If the DOE definition of the symptoms doesn't grab you, look to the Centers for Disease Control. They have a list of COVID-19 symptoms

Watch for symptoms

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

This list does not include all possible symptoms.

CDC even has a Self-Checker that everyone needs to do to assess themselves the night before school starts. I believe CDC will recommend you quarantine yourself for 14 days if you have any of the above symptoms.  The DOE will not allow you into a school building with any of the symptoms. Because nausea is one of them, I can truthfully say there weren't too many days in some stressful years that I didn't experience nausea before and during school. Now, who knows if it's COVID-19? That headache could be COVID-19 too, as could that loss of smell even though my wife and I spraying so much Lysol the last few months may be the cause of that symptom.   

The DOE and CDC are recommending you isolate yourself if you have symptoms. We agree. If you are feeling any symptoms, you are violating DOE guidance if you report to work. I wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble for not following DOE School Health Policy. Contract Article 20 attaches the School Health Policy to the Contract. I'm reasonably confident all of your health care practitioners would concur that you should isolate yourself for two weeks if you have any symptoms.

I'm reading back this posting and it seems a bit absurd. That said, we are in a crazy time and we may have to resort to drastic measures like a sickout although as I stated previously, it is not a sickout if we are all willing to work remotely from home. We are not refusing to work. My advice here in this posting is more like what is called Work to Rule. It is a fitting way to respond to the DOE's outrageous School Health Policy.

In the end, I do not wish COVID-19 on anyone and wish all of you the best of health. That is why we need to start the term remotely. We are just wasting time with these plans for blended learning that are completely unrealistic in most schools and will put students, staff, and their families in danger.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Andrew Cuomo
@NYGovCuomo
Reminder:
You don’t need to feel sick to spread this virus

But 1.1 million students and 200k staff members flood the subways and buildings.

Anonymous said...

Cuomo Says Gyms Are Highly Problematic, Will Remain Closed To Combat COVID

Anonymous said...

So we should open, get everybody sick and dying, then decide to close...

Anonymous said...

But keep paying dues as you complain. You are really teaching mulgrew a lesson. Teachers are the dumbest.

Anonymous said...

My AP makes me nauseated every single day- where do I sign up for that sickout?

Anonymous said...

de blasio said he will get driven around to his gym but we should be comfortable crowding into trains.

Anonymous said...

james, how could you ever argue with the scabs again. Every time, same result, uft fails.

Anonymous said...

mayor continues to insist on repeating the lie that 75% of parents want kids back in school. That is not what they said.

Anonymous said...

Our
@UFT

@UFTUnity
leadership cites low voter turnout for union elections as a reason why UFT agreed, in backdoor negotiations w/o getting member/representative input/votes, for students to have lunch DURING INSTRUCTION, longer work day, remote learning office hours, etc.

I suggest you opt out. The facts are obvious. Enjoy paying through this entire school year.

Anonymous said...

Every teacher in every school district in the country has their unions fighting to close schools. Here the teachers are trying to fight ‘their’ union from agreeing to open the schools. Mulgrew allowed you to walk to your deaths on 3/17, 3/18 and 3/19. Now this. Another 10,000 volt shock to the heart to get it to beat. The ventilator isn’t working. I think the body is unfortunately dead. Mulgrew’s lackeys are now digging the grave and the pre written tombstone reads - ‘Here rests the once most powerful union in the country. It was killed via apathy, greed, laziness, misplaced trust and overwhelming fear; these severe underlying conditions made it succumb to Covid-19. RIP ‘
Jim Mills

Anonymous said...

Didnt mulgrew say without federal aid schools couldnt open anyway. Didnt de balsio say he was laying off 22,000 workers? Either way, this is another sham.

Anonymous said...

Ok, cuomo said we are open. Mulgrew, ball in your court.

James Eterno said...

Opt out period is over for this year so it is a waste of time to propose it. You are paying dues for another year so demand representation. Bombard your CL, organize your school, join the opposition. You need to do more than write anonymous comments.

Anonymous said...

We now know school will be open. Who isnt going in?

Anonymous said...

@NYGovCuomo
says schools across the state are authorized to re-open based on the rate of positive cases in all regions -- but now their individual plans must be approved.

Anonymous said...

So cuomo say i can get a test, wow, thanks. How are you going to help when I am infected and sick?

Anonymous said...

What are PE teachers doing?

Anonymous said...

As schools reopen NYS is requiring all school districts to:

1) Post their remote learning plans & their testing/tracing plans online

2) Set dates for 3-5 discussion sessions with parents & community (prior to Aug 21)

3) Have at least one separate discussion with teachers alone
Andrew Cuomo
@NYGovCuomo
·
3m
In schools as elsewhere, masks are required when social distancing is impossible.

Every student should plan to have one with them at all times.

If a student does not have a mask, the school will be required to provide one.

Anonymous said...

I honestly think Cuomo made the best possible decision given the pressure he's receiving from both sides on this issue, while actually not making a real decision. This is a glorified delay tactic. Think about it:

- He's using the data to justify that schools can reopen, while holding out the possibility that the decision can change.

- He's still holding out the possibility that certain school districts won't reopen if their individual plans are not approved.

- As individual district plans become public, he's mandating that teachers and parents are made a part of the discussion (through "discussion groups"), with the caveat that as data and circumstances change, the decisions will change.

- He said that no one is interested in getting into a legal battle with teachers and that teachers must feel safe and comfortable before returning.

All of this being said, I hold to the notion that the plan proposed by Councilman Mark Treyger is the most viable and the most sensible. Da Bozo and Carranza should take note.

Anonymous said...

I’m a school counselor in an elementary school and usually pick up 2-3 kids in different classes for a group. Does anyone have any idea what would happen if one child’s class has a COVID case? Would we all (including the other children) have to quarantine? I pick up atleast one student per class each week and curious if a class has a case would I have to quarantine as well?

Anonymous said...

Carranza was on CNN just now and totally avoided answering the testing question.
That tells you everything you need to know about how safe you will be in September.

Anonymous said...

This will be extremely unsafe. The most comical thing about this...Will the media now say that cuomo wants kids to die like they say about trump?

waitingforsupport said...

Strong unions work.
Weak union LEADERS dont.
Michael Must-dew-nothing sold us out years ago.
Recipe for a strong union:
Strong,active members who bite if necessary (#Good trouble)
What about reaching out to your students and parents in order to get a tally of who wants full remote. The results should be sent to news outlets, Mike, Cuomo (?). It's pointless to send it to diblahhh-so. I think your best bet is to get the parents and students on your side. Idk. Good luck

Anonymous said...

We have no say. Some of you are not smart.

ed notes online said...

I had at least one of these almost every day for 35 years.

Anonymous said...

Are we all going to be tested before going into the buildings?

Jeff said...

Tested every day? As in a covid test? Staff and students? With immediate and accurate results? Lol.

waitingforsupport said...

@12:12pm: Yes and yes

Anonymous said...

Not going back. This is perhaps the only time in my life that I am happy to be overweight!