On days when hazardous conditions exist during the early morning hours, the Superintendent or designee will confer with the Assistant Superintendent, Facilities and Operations, and other appropriate school and Arlington County Government (ACG) staff for a decision on the daily school schedule. The Superintendent will notify the Assistant Superintendent, School and Community Relations, who will contact other staff members and will notify local radio and television stations on the status of school operations. A voice mail call-in box will be established, and there will be a broadcast message to each employee s voice mailbox. Unless the County Manager has declared a state of emergency, only the Superintendent s instructions should be followed. Other sources of information concerning emergency operations are available on Arlington Public Schools cable channel, on the Web, via the toll-free telephone Hotline, and through email and text messages through the APS School Talk notification service. The following are the statements that will indicate what procedure is to be followed: Normal Operations There will be no change in the hours of school operation. Generally, the media does not want to air or broadcast announcements when there is no change in operations. If possible, staff will request that this information is made available through local radio and television stations only if school officials believe that it may help to eliminate confusion created by the decision of other school systems to curtail school activities. However, the most reliable sources of information are the other sources of information utilized by APS including the Web, APS Hotline, and APS School Talk. Delayed Opening The opening of schools will be delayed by a time interval stated in the announcement. Announcements are generally made before 6 a.m. The following additional conditions will apply: All field trips for the day will be canceled. Decisions on cancellation of other school activities will be delayed to permit evaluation of changes in weather conditions. If it is an early release day, the early release time will not apply and students will remain until the regular daily dismissal time. Career Center shuttles will operate in accordance with a schedule predetermined by the high school and Career Center principals, and the Director of Transportation Services. Limited transportation will be available for wheelchair students. The Extended Day Before-School program will delay their opening for the same number of hours that school is delayed. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 1 of 7
Schools Are Closed Schools will remain closed for the day: All school activities, including Extended Day sessions and building rentals, will be canceled, except that high school principals, with the approval of the Superintendent or designee, may open their school buildings for that day for student participation in school-sponsored activities. All Adult Education classes and recreation programs will be canceled unless otherwise announced by 4 p.m. Early Dismissal Schools will be closed at the time or at another stated time interval. The announcement will normally be made by 11:30 a.m. The following other conditions will apply: Late activity buses and all after-school activities will be canceled. The Supervisor of Health and Physical Education will coordinate the cancellation of interscholastic athletic contests. The Supervisor will advise the Superintendent or designee by 12:30 p.m. if a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached in the high school schedule in order that this factor may be considered in arriving at a decision on bus transportation for athletic teams. Adult Education evening classes and recreation programs will be canceled unless otherwise announced by 4 p.m. The Extended Day After-School program will close at 4 p.m. Employee Work Schedules Employee work schedules may be affected by a decision to delay opening, close schools or dismiss students early. The following are the implications for employees for each of the decisions: Delayed Opening. The reporting time for twelve-month school employees will not be affected. Employees will not be penalized for reporting late due to adverse weather and road conditions. School Closing. Staff who are not twelve-month employees shall not be required to report to work on days schools are closed due to inclement weather conditions. The reporting time for twelve-month school employees will not be affected. Employees will not be penalized for reporting late due to adverse weather and road conditions. Early Dismissal. Staff who are not twelve-month employees shall be dismissed in accordance with established personnel policies. The working hours for twelve-month employees will not be affected by the early dismissal of students. The Superintendent or designee will make a separate decision on the dismissal of these employees. Essential Employees. Unless otherwise notified, essential employees are required to report on time. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 2 of 7
Operations During Air Quality Alerts The Supervisor, Health, Physical and Driver Education and Athletics, is responsible for notifying principals, assistant principals, the Director of Extended Day, and instructional supervisors via a voice mail message when the air quality has reached, or is anticipated to reach Code Orange or Code Red. These administrators are then responsible for notifying all appropriate staff to implement appropriate modifications of schedules, locations, and activities as described below. The following guidelines were developed by representatives from the Public Health Division of the Arlington County Department of Human Services, the Arlington Public Schools, and the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources. They are based on information from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments that is available to the public, and are intended to increase awareness of the health risks of breathing poor quality air. They should be used to guide decisions about appropriate activity levels for students on high ozone alert days. The ozone forecast is based upon meteorological data; it is readily available and updated one to three times a day from May to September when ground ozone is most problematic. It is reported daily in the form of a color code as follows: Code Green good air quality Code Yellow moderate air quality Code Orange unhealthy for sensitive groups Code Red unhealthy Code Purple very unhealthy Planning ahead for Code Red and Code Orange days is the best way to help children avoid problems associated with high ozone. School staffs should have a plan to find out the code status for a particular day and develop an action plan that addresses the following components: Make arrangements in advance for children to have an adequate indoor space if necessary. Plan appropriate indoor activities if a Code Red or Orange day forces you inside. Avoid outdoor activities between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. when ozone levels are highest. In the event of a Code Red day, take the following precautions: Refrain from all outdoor activities for elementary and middle school age children and for older youth who have asthma and other respiratory diseases. For healthy, older children, substitute less strenuous or indoor recreational play for outdoor activities. Children and young adults should avoid strenuous exercise, including soccer, tag, running, competitive outdoor swimming, basketball, football, tennis and calisthenics. Code Orange days are difficult for those with respiratory diseases and asthma. When possible, follow Code Red recommendations on these days. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 3 of 7
Closing Schools or Modifying Schedules Due to Emergency Conditions School closings due to emergency conditions may occur when one or more of the following conditions are met: When a legal order is issued by an authority with jurisdiction over the public schools and received by the Superintendent or designee, the schools will be closed in accordance with that order. When the Superintendent or designee has determined that a school facility is no longer habitable due to the failure of a building system (e.g., loss of heat, loss of water service, loss of structural integrity, etc.), the school or schools will be closed until the condition has been corrected or alternative arrangements have been made. Only those extracurricular and other activities specifically approved by the School Board will continue in operation during the period of such closure unless those activities are covered by the original order. In accordance with the above, the following will be among those activities reviewed for operation: Adult Education, rentals, athletic and other student activities, pools, meetings, etc. Early Dismissal Because of Habitability General Requirements Principals shall seek the approval of the Superintendent or another designated person prior to releasing students due to system failure. After each such early dismissal, principals will submit to the Superintendent or designee a summary of the situation causing the dismissal including the steps taken to correct the situation within the school, the time of the dismissal, and any difficulties encountered in accomplishing it. Procedure In the event that there is a system failure in the school (e.g., loss of heat, loss of water service, loss of structural integrity, etc.) which, in the opinion of the principal, jeopardizes the habitability of the building, the principal will take the following steps: 1. Notify Maintenance Services immediately when system failure is discovered, and ascertain from the Maintenance Services the estimated time to restore the facility to habitable conditions. 2. In the event the condition cannot be corrected in a reasonable period of time, the principal discusses the situation with the Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations. 3. If, after these conferences, it is determined that protection of the children's health necessitates the closing of the building, then the principal shall contact the Superintendent or designee for permission to dismiss school. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 4 of 7
4. For the purposes of defining habitability in terms of interior temperature, it has been determined that any time the temperature in a classroom or instructional area falls below 60 degrees Fahrenheit or exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit for more than one hour, the principal will seek immediate resolution of the situation. 5. If correction of the difficulty cannot be accomplished, students may be moved to a more comfortable portion of the building or the principal may initiate the above procedure. Once the Superintendent or designee has determined that school will be dismissed because of an emergency affecting the habitability of a facility, the principal takes the following steps: 1. Notify Transportation Services if buses are to be used. 2. Notify School Crossing Guards through the Police Department. 3. Follow the usual procedures to ensure that students will be properly provided for if they are released from school. 4. The Planning and Evaluation Office must be notified in writing immediately concerning the closing in order that its records will be accurate. Principal's Responsibilities Every principal will have a written plan for dealing with the above conditions. Such plan should be made available to the school staff and available to be followed in the principal's absence. Before taking any action to close a school due to building system failure, principals will exhaust every possible remedy. Elementary students will not be released unless principals are certain that there are adults who will receive the children after they leave school. Certain secondary students, including special education students, should not be released unless provision has been made for their safe supervision. Principals are responsible for notifying Transportation Services and coordinating the release of students with the availability of transportation. Principals are responsible for notifying crossing guards and coordinating the release of students with the availability of crossing guards. Principals are responsible for effectively coordinating Extended Day, Food Services, etc., within their school in terms of early dismissal. Shortened Days Due To Scarcity of Resources In the event schools are to be closed a portion of the regular school day because of a scarcity of resources (e.g., energy shortage, water restrictions, etc.), the following procedure will apply: Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 5 of 7
Schools will open at the usual times but will close earlier on a schedule approved by the Superintendent or designee. Students will be dismissed in the same order schools are opened, e.g., middle, high school, and elementary. Only those activities approved by the Board will continue during the period of reduced days. The following will be reviewed for operation: Special Education, Adult Education, school lunches, rentals, athletic and other student activities, pools, meetings, etc. The Extended Day Program will operate if the area of operation is habitable and there are no other restrictions. Reduced Week Schedule In the event it is necessary to reduce the number of days the schools are in session in a given week, the following will guide such closings All days the schools are open will be consecutive, i.e., Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday as opposed to alternate (M-W-F) days. All schools will retain their regular daily schedule for school start-time and dismissal. Only those activities specifically approved by the Board will take place on the days the schools are closed. The following will be reviewed for operation: Special Education, Adult Education, rentals, athletic and other student activities, pools, and Extended Day. Alternative Accommodation In the event it is necessary to close one or more facilities due to an emergency, the Superintendent or designee will identify appropriate facilities in which to conduct classes or alter the schedules of schools not otherwise affected to accommodate the emergency need. The following activities will be reviewed for continued operations and for reassignment to schools that remain open: Adult Education rentals, student activities, pools, school lunches. Extended Day programs will be established in those schools which are in operation. Hours of each session and of operations will be set by the Board. Transportation Transportation Services will be prepared to develop schedules to be used in alternative accommodations. Whenever possible, students will walk to their home schools to board buses to base schools. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 6 of 7
Personnel Assignments Principals will be responsible for working out assignments of personnel. Teachers and students should remain in the same groupings unless such is impossible. Custodians will be assigned by the Facilities and Operations Department. Secretaries and other personnel will be assigned by principals. Instructional Materials Principals will work out cooperative arrangements for the use of textbooks, etc., during the time the special arrangements are in effect. Transfers of instructional materials and equipment should be kept to a minimum. Implementation of Modified Schedules Receipt of official notification from a properly qualified source will initiate the following: Superintendent or designee to review situation and prepare recommendation to the Board. In emergency situation, the Superintendent or designee may act without Board approval. School Board meets in special or regular session for purpose of officially adopting an alternative to be implemented. School and Community Relations Department utilizes media to notify the community. Implementation by Staff The Superintendent's staff will convene for the purpose of specifically adopting procedures of implementation. All department heads will be directed to submit items for clarification and resolution. An all-administrators meeting will be called for the purpose of: distributing guidelines and directives answering questions and resolving problems Return to Regular Operation The Superintendent directs a return to regular operations. School and Community Relations Department will disseminate facts through broadcast and other media. Written instructions will be issued to each administrator at an all-administrators meeting. Follow-up procedures, if necessary, will be announced. Approved - April 18, 2008 Effective - April 18, 2008 Page 7 of 7