All counties remain green, but York and Penobscot closely monitored in release of color designations that reflect relative COVID-19 risk by county to assist district leaders with school planning

AUGUSTA — The Mills Administration today released an updated color coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission by color for schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support students safely this fall.

The updated assessment released today showed that all counties remain green, although Penobscot and York counties will be reassessed next Friday, September 4, to determine if they meet the threshold for yellow or red designation. Recent increasing case rates as well as open outbreaks in Penobscot and York are of concern. Data and trends from these counties will be closely monitored and reassessed early. Other counties will continue to be assessed every two weeks.

The Health Advisory System is a collaboration among the Maine Department of Education (DOE), the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). The classifications were developed to categorize counties based on quantitative and qualitative data about COVID-19 including, but not limited to, recent data on case rates, positivity rates, and syndromic data (e.g., symptoms of influenza or COVID-19). This system categorizes counties by three-color based designations: red, yellow, and green.

The Health Advisory System categorizations are defined as follows:

• RED: Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.
• YELLOW: Categorization as “yellow” suggests that that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models as a way to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.
• GREEN: Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures.  Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.

Regardless of their county’s red, yellow, or green designation, districts must also meet the Requirements for Safely Opening Schools to protect the safety and well-being of staff, students, and families. They fall into six categories:

1. Symptom Screenings Before Coming to School
2. Physical distancing and school facilities
3. Masks/Face Coverings
4. Hand Hygiene
5. Personal Protective Equipment
6. Return to School After Illness

The Maine CDC, in collaboration with the Maine DOE, has also released a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), subject to further revisions, for schools to follow in the event of a positive case of COVID-19 at a school. The SOP provides guidance on how cases will be defined and investigated, the role of school nurses, testing recommendations, isolation and quarantine requirements, and the notification process for probable and confirmed cases, including to family members and school communities.  The SOP also addresses how public health authorities will determine close contacts for individuals if a case of COVID-19 is identified.

Maine CDC will work with School Administrative Units (SAU) to identify potential locations where students, faculty, or staff could obtain COVID-19 testing. State-sponsored sample collection sites can be

found on https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/testing or https://get-tested-covid19.org.

Governor Janet Mills has also signed an Executive Order, expediting and expanding certain teaching certification requirements to ensure Maine schools have the qualified staff they need to safely reopen this fall. If necessary to respond to shortages in essential school staff, the Governor’s Executive Order authorizes the Maine DOE to provide one year emergency teaching certifications to qualified individuals. In partnership with Eastern Maine Community College, the DOE will also offer a certification for “Learning Facilitators.” These pre-teacher level staff members can staff learning centers or serve as an in-person learning assistant for a remote instruction teacher. The Executive Order also establishes health and safety requirements as well as other expectations for in-person, hybrid and remote education as defined by the Maine DOE’s Framework for Reopening Schools and Returning to In-Person Instruction which must be adopted by schools. To read the Governor’s full Executive Order, please click here.

The Health Advisory System reflects ongoing analysis of evolving data and serves as one piece of information that school and district leaders can use to make decisions about how to deliver education this fall. It generally will be updated at 12:00 pm every other Friday, and can be found on the Maine DOE website in Part I of the Framework for Reopening Schools and Returning to In-Person Classroom Instruction: https://www.maine.gov/doe/framework/part-I

A federal judge in California has blocked a rule issued by Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, in response to a suit filed by Maine, seven other states and four large city school districts.  The judge’s ruling stated that the rule would unlawfully require relief funds to be diverted from k-12 public schools to private schools.

The parties to the suit are Michigan, California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington D.C. and the school districts of New York City, Chicago, Cleveland and San Francisco.
The conclusion of the Judge’s brief includes:

“A preliminary injunction is granted as follows.

(1) The United States Department of Education, Secretary Betsy DeVos, and their officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any person acting in concert with them, or at their behest, and who has knowledge of this injunction, are preliminarily enjoined from implementing or enforcing against plaintiffs the provisions in the Guidance (April 30, 2020) or the interim final rule, 85 Fed. Reg. 39479 (July 1, 2020). The injunction will remain in place pending further order of the Court.

(2) Plaintiffs are excused from posting a bond under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c).

The Court sets a case management conference for September 17, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. A joint case management statement is due by September 10, 2020.”

The Judge’s brief includes many pointed remarks, and can be read in its entirety, here.

The ruling affirmed Maine Department of Education’s guidance to School Administrative Units regarding their process for determining equitable funds for private schools.

The Department of Education is seeking individuals who are invested in identifying and reducing barriers to school attendance for Maine students. The Truancy, Drop Out and Alternative Education Advisory Committee has been appointed to advise the Commissioner of Education on the development and implementation of state and local policies and programs that are needed to deal effectively with the incidence of truancy and dropouts in Maine schools. In accordance with PL 2007, c. 667, §10 (AMD), the committee will consider its mandate in a broad context to assess the causes of truancy and dropouts, the effectiveness of alternative education and prevention programs, and the social and educational programs or changes needed to encourage students to remain in school, including reintegration planning and aftercare services provided for juvenile offenders who have been released from juvenile facilities in the State and have enrolled in schools in the State.

The 15 member committee will meet throughout the year with the support of DOE staff to review and discuss current information related to student attendance, as well as examine policy and guidance practices for the State. Committee members will join for a two year period with the option to be reappointed. We are bringing together a team with diverse backgrounds including: school principals, school counselors, adult education teachers, superintendents, administrators of private schools, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Corrections, Department of Labor, staff or community members of dropout and alternative education programs, business community representatives, as well as other individuals who will contribute to the development of effective guidance and programs and who are passionate about the success of students.

We hope you are interested in joining this important work, and are looking forward to having you as part of this team.

If you have questions, or are interested in serving on the committee, please contact Maine DOE School Counseling and Mental Health Specialist Bear Shea at w.bear.shea@maine.gov or Office of School and Student Supports Director Rich Meserve at richard.meserve@maine.gov.