H1N1 Flu FAQs Revised November 24, 2009 School Districts must make decisions based on the health and well-being of their students. The Oregon Department of Education encourages schools to work closely with their local health departments when making health-related decisions. This FAQ is not intended to guide decisions regarding school or district wide closure; rather it is to provide additional information regarding what impact such closures might have on average daily membership (ADM), state testing, and accountability reports. 1. Q. Many of my students are home with flu-like symptoms. Do I need to close the school? A. No. The new CDC guidance stipulates that schools should not close school for H1N1 but should practice the exclusion rule. Students and staff with flu-like symptoms, including a fever of 100 degrees or more, sore throat and/or cough, must stay home for at least 24 hours after symptoms have subsided. 2. Q. If my district closes due to concerns regarding the H1N1 flu, do we still get ADM for those days? A. Closing schools will not affect your ADM and, therefore, will not affect your funding through the state's funding formula. If schools are closed, then the session days would be reduced and the overall ADM and formula funding amount would not be impacted. Districts must be careful, however, that they provide the minimum number of instructional hours. Additional information regarding the number of instructional hours can be found at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/announcements/announcement.aspx?=4452. 3. Q. Many of my students have stayed home with flu like symptoms. Do I have to un-enroll them after 10 days? A. The Oregon Department of Education has conducted a survey of school districts hardest hit by flu-like absences. To date, only one student in one school district has been out for more than 10 consecutive days and the overwhelming majority of absent students have returned to school within 10 days. At this time, ODE will continue to require school districts to place absent students on the inactive roll after 10 consecutive days of absence and place them back on the active roll when they return to school. Students on the inactive roll cannot be counted in the district s ADM.
ODE will continue to monitor this situation closely through the winter and spring months. The agency will consider making State School Fund adjustments for school districts adversely affected by high percentages of students out longer than 10 consecutive days. It is advised that school districts keep track of students who have been absent with flu-like symptoms for prolonged periods. 4. Q. My school district has had a high percentage of students absent with flu-like symptoms and will not be able to meet the 92% attendance target for AYP this year. Can we appeal this? A. Yes. The U.S. Department of Education has indicated that the substantive appeal process for AYP can be used in cases where high absentee rates are caused by H1N1 flu. The ODE Office of Assessment & Information Services is currently working with advisory committee to draft a procedure for how to address AYP substantive appeals for attendance due to widespread illness. The agency plans to issue guidance on the substantive appeal process for H1N1 illnesses once this deliberative process is completed. In the meantime, ODE asks school districts to review their procedures on how excused absences due to illness are recorded vs. other excused absences. 5. Q. What happens if my school is not able to meet the minimum number of instructional hours? A. If a school is forced to close due to a high rate of infected students and staff and a district becomes non-standard (i.e. it falls below the minimum number of instructional hours), state law provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction may withhold portions of State School Fund moneys until such deficiencies are corrected (unless the withholding would create an undue hardship). However, pursuant to state law, this would not occur, at the earliest, until next school year, if at all. Schools that fall below the minimum hours need to inform the ODE by the end of February 2010 if they anticipate they won t meet the minimal instructional hours. 6. Q. If my school isn't able to finish administering required state tests, including OAKS and ELPA, due to student absences and school closures based on concerns regarding the H1N1 flu, will this impact my participation rate? A. Yes. A school's participation rate will be reduced if students do not take required state tests. Accountability reports would be issued based on the data that were available. However, based on a discussion with the U.S. Department of Education ODE is considering substantive appeals as described in question 6.
7. Q. If my district isn t able to finish administering required state tests or submit paper-based tests for scoring by the deadlines noted in the 2009-10 Test Schedule as a result of the H1N1 flu, will ODE grant an extension? A. Affected districts may submit a force majeure exception request. (OAR 581-022- 0610) ODE will review the request and may permit a one-day extension for each day missed as a result of the H1N1 flu, for up to five days in cases where a force majeure occurs within three days of the close of the testing window or shipping deadline (as applicable) and prevents a school district from meeting the deadline. Districts must apply for this extension starting on the first school day after normal operations resume and extensions can not extend beyond the month in which the testing window ends. In addition, ODE may consider substantive appeals as described in question 5. 8. Q. My school participates in the National School Lunch and/or School Breakfast Program. Can we continue to deliver meals to students in low income areas in the event of a school closure? A. Yes, with a waiver from The Oregon Department of Education. Depending on your community, you may choose to partner with faith-based and/or other community organizations; or, you may elect to serve students using school facilities. For information on how to apply for a waiver along with guidelines for feeding children, go to: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=2775 9. Q. My school has a high population of students on IEPs. What will happen if school is closed and the federal timelines and requirements are not met for these students? A. In the event that a school district decides is affected by an H1N1 school closure, the district should review every Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to determine it prevents full implementation of the plan. In the event that changes are required to the IEP, parents must be involved, and any unilateral school or district decisions regarding IEPs are prohibited. Additionally, there are six other issues relative to a shortened K-12 school year that require attention; each depends on the individual situation of the district or student. For further details go to: http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/announcements/announcement.aspx?=4452 10. Q. I have been advised by my local health officer, and in consultation with my ESD superintendent, have decided to close my school/school district. How do I report this? A. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education have established a School Dismissal Monitoring System to report on
H1N1-related school district/school closures in the United States. Your assistance in reporting known school dismissals is very important. Note: If an entire school district is closed, provide only the name of the school district. It is not necessary to list all the individual schools in the school district. If multiple schools (but not all schools in the school district) are dismissing students, complete a separate form for each school. 11. Q. I have been asked to provide information to the local health department about how many of our school district students have the flu. Under FERPA, may I give them this information? A. The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) generally prohibits schools districts from disclosing personally identifiable information from a student education record without the written consent of a parent. A parent is defined as a natural or adoptive parent, a legal guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of the parent or guardian. When students reach the age of 18 all of the rights afforded by FERPA transfer from the parents to the students. (34 CFR 99.3) In the case of disclosing information to a state or local health department, a school district may disclose information from a student education record if the disclosure meets one or more of the following conditions: 1. The school district has prior parental consent for the disclosure (34 CFR 300.622); 2. The school district redacts the personally identifiable information from the student education record (34 CFR 99.3); or 3. The disclosure is specifically to a health care professional or other appropriate party and a school official determines that disclosure of the information is necessitated because knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals (34 CFR 99.36). To improve preparedness in response to the H1N1 flu outbreak, the U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to answer questions that school officials may have concerning the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) from students education records to outside entities when addressing an H1N1 flu outbreak. Understanding how, what, and when information can be shared is a critical part of preparedness. The guidance is available at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/ferpa-h1n1.pdf.
The Department s Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) is available to respond to any questions school officials may have about FERPA. For quick responses to routine questions about FERPA, school officials may e-mail FPCO at FERPA@ed.gov. School officials may also call FPCO at (202) 260-3887. Additional information and guidance on FERPA is available on FPCO s web site at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/.