Back to school: schools can reopen in MG; check protocols – General

THE protocol points out the need for a safe return, with rules of detachment and hygiene, in addition to being optional, that is, it depends on the agreement of parents for young people and children to attend face-to-face classes.

All state schools will follow the educational strategy and protocol of the State Department of Education. In the case of municipal and private educational institutions, it is up to each municipality to assess whether they will adhere to the state protocol or whether the city wishes to create its own operating rules.

Return protocol

The protocol resulting from the debates and technical meetings of the Working Group formed by representatives of the State Secretariats of Sade (SES) and the Educao (SEE), the Sociedade Mineira de Pediatria and the Brazilian Association of Neurology and Child Psychiatry, which also had the participation of other entities, associations and unions of public servants as guests.

The group analyzed dozens of international studies on the impact of pandemic in children and adolescents, in addition to state, national and international epidemiological data on COVID-19.

Hygiene and protection

Schools should provide protective equipment and hygiene products for students, teachers, and staff, such as dispensers of liquid soap, alcohol gel, reusable masks, disposable cups, paper towels, gloves, and pedal lids.

Bubbles

Schools are recommended to adopt different schedules to enter and exit different classes or create bubbles, with groups of students that do not cross.

Waves

The return to face-to-face classes will be possible, in case of municipal authorization and desire of the students’ parents, in the green and yellow waves of Minas Consciente. However, if the macro-region in which the municipality is inserted reverts to the red wave, the face-to-face classes can continue, provided that even stricter distance rules are met.

Distancing

In the green and yellow waves, there will be a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between the students. As the average size of classrooms in the state network is 42 m², there will be, on average, 18 students in each class, depending on the structural configuration of each room. In the red wave, the minimum distance between students will be 3 meters.

Preference criteria

When there are more interested in the face-to-face return than possible to the reality of that school community, the educational institution may use preference or non-preference criteria, such as: children belonging to risk groups; children living with people at risk; vulnerable families, especially those that are already registered in Cadnico; children living with single guardians, who need face-to-face work to maintain family income

State education

The return of the school year in the public schools of Minas Gerais will be on March 3. The return to classes will be on March 8, initially, still restricted to the remote model, due to a judicial decision in an amparo that prevents the return in person.

Suspended from classes

The state protocol cites possibilities of suspending face-to-face classes in a classroom, in a shift, in a school or even in a municipality. This measure will depend on the occurrence of cases.

If there is more than one case of a student with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in the same class, the entire class must migrate to online teaching. If more than one class is suspended in the same shift, that entire shift migrates to remote education. In the event that it is necessary to suspend more than one shift, the entire school must temporarily migrate to online teaching.

Regarding school activity in general in the municipality or state, municipal and state managers must observe the general indicators to determine whether or not there is a need for partial suspension of classes in municipalities, regions or throughout the state.

Supervision

Any return methodology must be constantly monitored to understand the impacts on the epidemiological situation, local and state. The main source of follow-up will be the Conscious Mines plan, with indicators that encourage and support the debate of more meetings of the state crisis offices, including the Conscious Mines Executive Group and the Covid-19 Extraordinary Committee.

The Extraordinary Committee of Covid-19 is chaired by the Secretary of State for Health, doctor Carlos Eduardo Amaral. It also has the governor Romeu Zema, the entire secretariat of the Executive of Minas Gerais, representatives of the Public Ministry of Labor, the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais, the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais, the Public Defender of Minas Gerais, the Court of Accounts . of the State, among other strategic bodies.