Guidance offered on flu-related school issues 

As of this morning, the California Department of Education reports 22 schools have been ordered to close their doors to students to prevent the spread of the of H1N1 influenza virus, and many more schools are seeing increased absences, affecting average daily attendance and disrupting student learning and the crucial spring testing season.

Fortunately, schools affected by the flu outbreak can avoid drastic impacts on their ADA funding, according to the CDE. Impacted child care and preschool programs may also receive similar emergency attendance credit.

“Section 46392 of the Education Code provides for the crediting of ADA ‘whenever the average daily attendance of any school district, county office of education, or regional occupational center or program ... has been materially decreased’ ” due to an emergency, according to a management advisory posted on CDE’s Web site. “School districts and county offices are to be held harmless from revenue loss that might otherwise result from the loss of ADA or instructional time in emergencies.”

State Superintendent Jack O’Connell noted Friday that even schools that close their doors to students should continue to operate as normally as possible.

“Teaching staff and school administrators can still come to work, and we encourage our schools to provide for the continuity of education services for students at home, either through distance learning, Web-based instruction or learning packets that parents can pick up,” O’Connell said in a telephone conference briefing for educators. He urged school officials to work closely with their county offices of education and departments of health in response to the flu outbreak.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which updates figures on its Web site daily, New York, Illinois, California and Texas have the most residents infected with the flu virus. The agency has confirmed 403 cases of H1N1 flu in the U.S.; only one death, that of a 2-year-old Mexican boy in a Texas hospital, has been reported.

STAR, CAHSEE testing

In last week’s telephone briefing for educators, O’Connell acknowledged that the epidemic affects Standardized Testing and Reporting administration and many students who are scheduled to take the California High School Exit Exam. He said he would seek authority to modify testing deadlines, adding that his staff has also been working with testing contractors and vendors to facilitate “any necessary accommodations needed for affected schools. We are also in touch with the U.S. Department of Education regarding the potential need for flexibility on accountability requirements—like participation rates and reporting schedules.” By law, STAR tests must occur within a 21-day window from mid-April to early May.

Related link:

CSBA has updated its own “H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Fact Sheet” and provided a portal to the CDE and other agencies’ flu information sources @ http://www.csba.org/EducationIssues/EducationIssues/SwineFlu.aspx