Superintendent warns of discipline if teachers, staff, students don't follow virus rules

In an extraordinary email sent out to teachers and staff before the Tuesday evening School Board meeting, Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna issued an urgent plea to follow COVID-19 social-distancing and mask-wearing guidelines – or face possible disciplinary consequences. 

"We hear you. We care about you. We know that change is hard, but it will also be hard to isolate from your family and be off work for 14 days if there is a positive test and you are within 6 feet of each other," Hanna's email read. "I am pleading with each of you reading this email to implement these changes now both professionally and in your personal life." 

As roughly 50 teachers protested the reopening of schools while outside the building at the start of Tuesday's School Board meeting, Hanna again referenced the email when discussing details of the district's plans for an Aug. 31 start date. 

The 6 foot rule in Hanna's email is in reference to the district's and Florida Department of Health in Leon County's rules about contact tracing in classrooms.

District and health department officials will consider people who were within 6 feet of each other for 15 minutes or more "exposed" if one of the individuals later tests positive for the novel coronavirus.

Both individuals, the positive-testing person and exposed person, will be required to quarantine for up to 14 days, despite whether both were wearing face masks or not, Hanna wrote. 

"The quarantine procedures will have one of the biggest impacts on our school district over the coming weeks," Hanna's email read. "Unless it’s your spouse, significant other or immediate family member in your house, please, please, please stay away from others. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM OTHERS!"

Hanna did not elaborate on what the district's disciplinary measures will be if employees do not follow the protocols, though Hanna's email said multiple employees had already received a written reprimand. His email cited a violation of the policy that governs employee ethical conduct and protecting the health and welfare of staff and students.

"While we are respectful of all of our employees to behave like responsible adults, it is important to also make you aware that there are disciplinary actions the district will take if necessary," the email states.

"We want all of you to be safe. We are working as hard as we possibly can under the guidelines set by the CDC to implement the Safe Start Re-opening Plan. Please help us by staying socially distant from each other and wearing a mask."

Protesters gathered outside maintained the only way to maintain safety was to keep brick and mortar schools closed.

The protesters, holding signs that said “open when safe” and “first nine online” also conducted a car caravan. They were joined by County Commissioner Bill Proctor and City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who called on the governor last week to give school districts local control over reopening schools.

More:Matlow, Proctor call on DeSantis to give school districts power over reopening

Jessica Barthle, a Rickards High School teacher, told board members inside that she can't watch her colleagues and students shoulder the grief that is coming when people start dying.

"This plan is not and never will be feasible or equitable," she said, noting that she planned on applying for an ADA accommodation due to anxiety. "There are ways to make this work online."

Student discipline regarding face masks

Students also face possible disciplinary action for violating distancing and mask guidelines.

School Board members attempted to iron out details Tuesday of attendance and disciplinary policies for students once schools reopen in August. 

Students who refuse to wear their face masks when required will face discipline from school administrators, which will be more severe for each infraction, according to the new policy.

Multiple deliberate infractions could result in a student being withdrawn from a brick-and-mortar school site to the school's Digital Academy, Assistant Superintendent Kathleen Rodgers told the board.

School Board member Rosanne Wood urged Hanna to send home a primer on rules that parents must sign and return before the first day of school. Hanna said he would take it under advisement.

The district will also strictly monitor attendance the Digital Academy.

The district will finalize details of the new policy governing student attendance at both physical school sites and online learning platforms for the next School Board meeting. 

Chromebooks

Hanna told board members that roughly 4,500 of the 33,000 or so Chromebooks the district spent $10.5 million to purchase will arrive in time for the start of school.

At last week's board meeting, Hanna pointed to overseas delivery issues and added “everyone in the country is lined up” to get these devices and that the district is making plans as if the computers will not arrive by the first day of school. He told the board he would retool the contract and get thousands of devices from another source. 

To date, the district reports that 16,493 students have chosen to return to physical classrooms in the fall, while roughly 12,350 have opted for Digital Academies. About 300 students have transitioned to Leon County Virtual School, the district reports. 

Of the 30,317 students, 29,070 have responded. The district has yet to hear from 1,200 or so students, District Spokesman Chris Petley told the Democrat in a text message. 

Hanna said the district will begin contacting families who have opted for Digital Academy for the first semester to ask whether students have laptops they may use for the start of school.

The district will prioritize distributing the first wave of Chromebooks to those who do not, he told the board. 

Alerting families to COVID-19 cases in schools 

The school district will send out what Assistant Superintendent Alan Cox called "form letters" to families to alert them when a student in their child's classroom tests positive for COVID-19. 

Cox said the letters will be sent out "as soon as I know" about the positive test and possible exposures. The letters will not include the positive-testing child's name, he told the board. 

To date, 14 schools and three district sites in the district have had at least one employee test positive for the virus, Cox told the board. He said this does not mean the employee caught the virus while at school, or that they were in the building while positive for the virus. 

He said the district has seen a total of 30 confirmed cases of the virus and had calculated 132 exposures. 

Cases in Leon County Schools Staff:

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• Chiles athletic director describes battle against COVID-19 as 'life-changing'

Board members said they wanted the district to keep a running list of these incidences and possibly make the information publicly accessible, without identifying individual cases. 

Cox also told the board teachers will receive face shields from the district to wear in addition to face masks. 

The board meeting concluded with a plea from Hanna and other board members that anyone in Leon County with sewing skills should contact the district to help with making specialized face masks for teachers. The district's main phone number is (850) 487-7100. 

Read the full email from Superintendent Rocky Hanna to district staff

Dear colleagues,

I wanted to take a moment to highlight the quarantine process for our district as directed by the Leon County Health Department and plead with each of you to maintain at least six feet of distance from each other at all times.

The quarantine procedures will have one of the biggest impacts on our school district over the coming weeks. The latest guidance from the CDC and the Leon County Health Department dictates that whenever adults are within six feet of each other for more than 15 minutes, and one of the adults tests positive, both will be required to quarantine for up to 14 days even if both individuals are wearing masks.

There is no leeway on this item, but the solution is simple. 

Unless it’s your spouse, significant other or immediate family member in your house PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM OTHERS!  SIX FEET OR MORE! (And I never use all caps.) This is not just to alleviate the quarantine requirements, more importantly, it will keep you better protected from contracting the virus.

We are all in this together and we will need to work together to take care of each other and lead by example. We need your help to stop the spread. In addition, if you are waiting on the results of a COVID test YOU MAY NOT COME TO WORK UNTIL YOU KNOW THE RESULTS OF THE TEST ARE NEGATIVE!! (Again all caps.)

We hear you. We care about you. We know that change is hard, but it will also be hard to isolate from your family and be off work for 14 days if there is a positive test and you are within six feet of each other.  I am pleading with each of you reading this email to implement these changes now both professionally and in your personal life.

While we are respectful of all of our employees to behave like responsible adults, it is important to also make you aware that there are disciplinary actions the district will take if necessary. A handful of employees have already received a written reprimand pursuant to LCS Policy 3210-Standards of Ethical Conduct for Instructional Staff. This policy states that staff will, “make a reasonable effort to protect the student [and other staff members] from conditions harmful to learning and/or to the student's [or staff member’s] mental and/or physical health and/or safety.”

We want all of you to be safe. We are working as hard as we possibly can under the guidelines set by the CDC to implement the Safe Start Re-opening Plan. Please help us by staying socially distant from each other and wearing a mask.

As Board Member Darryl Jones has stated many times “Wearing is Caring”!

Sincerely,

Rocky Hanna

CD Davidson-Hiers is an education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her at 850-631-0958, or CDavidsonH@Tallahassee.com. Twitter: @DavidsonHiers. 

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