States Reopening Guidelines for Schools

•  Consider creative means and alternative delivery methods of offering physical education instruction and scheduling music courses so that age-appropriate social distancing is maintained and the spread of respiratory droplets is reduced.      

Guidance for teaching elective courses through remote instruction:          
 “Decisions about elective course offerings are determined at the local division level and must adhere to requirements in the Standards of Accreditation (SOA) and Standards of Quality for Virginia Public Schools. There are no plans to waive requirements for any instructional program, including electives, specials, and resource classes, required in the SOA. The Governor, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), will issue health and safety requirements and guidance for Virginia public schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Once the Governor’s guidelines and requirements are released, both core and elective courses may need to evaluate and adjust the curriculum in order to meet the guidelines.”     

•  LEAs must identify courses that would be more at risk and make plans with support from local health departments to mitigate the risks.     
•  Choir is an inherently high-risk activity due to the increased level of respiratory output; consider layering several other strategies to mitigate, including conducting in outdoor spaces, space at least 6 feet apart, reduce duration spent face-to-face, use of barriers, increasing airflow and ventilation.    
•  Explore limiting and/or canceling nonessential assemblies, recitals, dances, etc. or reschedule as virtual gatherings.        

The TN Department of Education is releasing a series of toolkits with additional guidance.  From the Academics Toolkit is a section on incorporating the Arts:     
•  Arts classrooms, theaters, studios, music rehearsal halls, and other types of arts-specific learning spaces are typically designed for specialized use by arts programs.  Districts should consider ways to minimize transitions by large numbers of students in and out of art spaces and consider in-classroom arts where possible to minimize student movement.    
•  Arts educators should be involved in planning and decision-making to develop appropriate cleaning procedures for any class changes that follow current CDC guidance.    
•  Schools that offer individualized music, dance, or other types of one-on-one or small group lessons presented by a certified arts educator or an external arts provider, should designate appropriately sized spaces that can safely accommodate participants using social distancing guidelines.   
•  Districts should also consider how to accommodate virtual art experiences should the need arise.       
    

Ensuring a Well-Rounded Education:
•  Certain courses and content face unique challenges for delivery via distance learning. These same courses are likely to be the ones that face the greatest instructional challenges due to new health and safety requirements like social distancing or wearing of masks.    
•  However, it is unanimously the recommendation of this task force that districts continue to ensure students have access to a well-rounded education in both in-person and distance learning environments this fall.     
•  These courses are an essential component of the world-class education identified in the Profile of the SC Graduate, and access to a well-rounded education has documented benefits for the social and emotional wellness of students through promotion of attributes like hope and engagement.     
•  In determining how to ensure student access, districts should refer to the guidance provided by the relevant state and national professional organizations. Specifically, students in South Carolina should have continued opportunities to participate in or access to the arts (visual and performing).    
•  While new health and safety protocols in schools may present challenges for instruction focused on the domain of presentation/performance, arts teachers have the capacity to shift instructional focus to the other domains in ways that are consistent with health requirements.    
•  Districts should seek to partner with the SCDE and state and local arts organizations to enhance student access to the arts.    
•  Districts should look to state and national arts organizations for guidance on how to safely ensure student access to the arts for in-person instruction and meaningful access for distance learning. The appendix includes a link to the NFHS, NAfME and, NAMM Foundation Instrument Cleaning Guidelines and Information.      

•  Consider the unique needs of music programming (e.g., band, orchestra, choir) and transmission risk-mitigation protocols to address hygiene, disinfection of equipment, distancing during practice and competition, and numbers of participants. Due to the potential increased risk of droplet transmission, physical distancing should be prioritized for wind instruments.     

•  It is important to understand that many music, art, drama and dance teachers have worked with the same population of students every year and may be able to more easily adapt their curriculum to the start of a new school year.    
•  Teachers should focus on standards for the current grade level while scaffolding knowledge that may have been missed or forgotten from the 2019-20 school year. To prepare for the upcoming school year, teachers are encouraged to consider the following:   
          (i)  Become familiar with the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Fine Arts and consider nontraditional teaching methods for the four artistic processes.     
          (ii)  Keep in mind that students in transition may need the most support as they begin learning in a new space and arts discipline with a potentially altered school schedule. Beginner
                  students in an instrumental music program may need to audition on instruments during class in the fall and be sorted into instrument-specific classes in the spring.    
•  Coming soon – Guidance for Safely Opening and Sustaining Fine Arts Classrooms      

•  Emphasize physical distancing for vocal and instrumental music classes according to spatial allowances and room size.   
•  Allow for the cleaning and sanitizing of equipment before and after use.   
•  Provide instruction for healthy practices to use when cleaning personal instruments.   

•  If indoor rehearsals are not recommended, utilize other avenues of music learning such as music theory, music appreciation, songwriting, music history, and instrument classes such as guitar and ukulele.   
 •  Teachers should stagger access to lockers for instrument storage.   
•  In local areas with ongoing community transmission, chorus and band classes should be controlled. School leaders should be advised that the risk of transmission during music and band classes increases in older grades.   
•  When considering music classes, ensure that students remain in cohorts and are appropriately physically distanced. Holding these classes outdoors would be a safe alternative.     
•  When cohorting and/or physical distancing cannot occur, consider alternative music classes such as virtual instruction, music technology, music theory, and music appreciation.

•  As able, “specials” (like art, music, and library) should be brought to the classrooms instead of having students move to different locations.
•  Libraries, computer labs, arts, and other hands on classrooms must undergo cleaning after every class period with either an EPA-approved disinfectant or diluted bleach solution.

Maryland’s plan presents options to meet social distancing requirements, including rotations of one or two days per week as well as a four-day week.  All options include the following:   
•  Fine Arts, Physical Education, and Health Education teachers will be included, to teach their respective content. These classes will be offered as a rotation to provide the necessary content and support to students for a well-rounded curriculum while also helping to reduce the student-teacher ratios to 10 or fewer in each learning environment.    
•  Out of School Time (OST) programs will offer students a broad array of additional services, programs and activities such as: substance abuse and alcohol prevention, violence prevention, counseling, art, music and technology education.     

•  Band and vocal music may resume in Phase 3, with physical distance recommendations in effect.

Operations section (begins on page 1001):
Classrooms - Instructional Programming - General Guidance
Reduce class sizes as needed and maintain adequate staffing levels for teaching and learning to occur in a safe and equitable manner (i.e. band, choir, physical education).

Specialized Classes
Low Community Restrictions (based on status of pandemic)
• All supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools, etc. should be cleaned and sanitized daily.
• Students should not share other supplies, including instruments, art supplies, tools, etc. where feasible.
• Allow stable group of elementary students to move to specialized classes as a group with proper hygiene and cleaning routines.
Moderate Community Restrictions
• All supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools, etc. should be cleaned and sanitized with each use.
• Consider having the stable student groups remain in the classroom and specialized teachers can rotate in.
• To maximize classroom space, remove any unnecessary materials and furniture.
High Community Restrictions
• Students should not share any supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools, etc. where feasible.
• All supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools, etc. should be cleaned and sanitized daily.

Common Spaces (pages 1014-15)
• Pursue virtual activities and events in lieu of student assemblies, special performances, school-site parent meetings, and spirit nights, if possible.
• Revise assemblies and performances to allow for social distancing.

Extra and Cocurricular (pages 1018-21) - Recommendation(s) for Performing Arts:
General Considerations
• Refer to NFHS Performing Arts resources.
• Assigned seating.
• Consider live streaming as allowed with licensing.
Marching Band
Refer to KSHSAA Guidelines and NFHS information regarding instrument hygiene. Adhere to 6 ft or more spacing requirements for on-field performances.
High Community Restrictions
• Students should not share any supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools etc. where feasible.
• All supplies including instruments, art supplies, tools etc. should be cleaned and sanitized daily.
Choir/Music Education
Use NFHS guidelines and use cloth face masks if feasible.
6 feet of personal distance but should develop plan using 10 feet or more.  Venues and rehearsal space should provide enough space for increased personal distance -- again developing plan of 10 feet or more.
Theater
Maximum cast sizes based on stage size to allow for personal distance of at least 6 feet. Venue/spacing for rehearsals should allow personal distance of at least 6 feet. Size/spacing requirements for staging/choreography: 6 feet and goes to 10 feet if singing. Orchestra pits should allow at least 6 feet in personal distance.
Appendix includes additional resources.

•  Identify essential concepts/skills grade levels and provide access to enrichment (fine arts, music, world language, CTAE, computer science, AP/ IB, dual enrollment, physical education/ play, STEM/STEAM, etc.).      

Schools must:
•  Cancel or modify classes where students are likely to be in very close proximity, unless group size and physical (social) distance of 6 feet between individuals can be maintained.   
•  Of note, activities in which voices are projected, such as choir or theater, present greater risk of spread of respiratory droplets even with physical distance of 6 feet. Such activities are strongly recommended to be cancelled even if group size and 6-foot distance can be maintained.      

Required: Develop plans for the implementation of a physical education, fine arts, and music curriculum that consider the needs of all students, including focusing on activities, adaptations, and modifications of all education decisions to ensure the full inclusion by all students.         

Guidelines:
• For handling musical instruments, consult the National Association for Music Education’s COVID-19 Instrument Cleaning Guidelines.    
• Provide sufficient instructional minutes to support standards-based curriculum, student learning expectations, and district goals.    
• Strive to maintain current program of studies and course offerings, within safety precautions.      
• Maintain proper spacing of at least 12 feet when students are singing or performing wind instruments by scheduling large ensembles in auditoriums, outdoors, cafeterias, gyms or other large spaces.    
• Focus on maximizing distancing for instruments that require blowing or for singing, compared with string and percussion instruments.                                                                                                                  
• Schedule large ensembles into smaller groups throughout the day. Shift curriculum focus to solo and small ensemble work. Shift from a concert format to a recital format. Create virtual performance experiences and assessments.     
• Maintain small homogeneous groupings of instruments for lesson instruction.    
• Continue full access to beginning instrumental music.    
• Use on-line apps or platforms for student work (e.g., SeeSaw, Artsonia, Google Classroom, Flip Grid, SmartMusic, Sound Trap, Acapella, museum collections, painting/drawing platforms), video displays (e.g., YouTube), and slides (e.g., Google Slides, PowerPoint).     
• Further guidance related to chorus instruction will be shared as it is released.    
• Schedule Music, Visual Art and Theatre to be flexible and accessible for all students.
 

•  “Limit sharing of objects and equipment, such as toys, games and art supplies to the extent practicable.”         
The intent of the document is to be a guide, “for local discussion on reopening schools.”  Plans for specific LEAs should be consulted for additional guidance on music/arts education. 

AZ Department of Education Arts and Physical Education Guidelines:         

Teach AZ State Standards in all Arts and Physical education subject areas, with sufficient time to develop students’ artistic and physical literacy, knowing that modification is required to develop safe, equitable, and cost-effective instruction for all students, in-person, online or blended.          

Modification Recommendations:
•  At a minimum, sustain current levels of funding as part of a student’s right to a Well-Rounded Education.      
•  Include teachers in content-specific professional development and planning to develop distance learning, blended learning, hybrid learning, or flipped classrooms.          

Performing Arts (Dance, Music Theatre):    
•  Consider portions of a class be done outside to provide more social distancing, weather permitting.    
•  Exclude activities that require physical contact from lesson plans.    
•  Use markings on the floor or and/or student workstations to adhere to social distance requirements in classrooms requiring movement.    
•  Develop live-performance alternatives or substitutes that meet ‘Performing’ state standards, following national guidelines.   
•  Follow the Instrument Cleaning Guidelines and Information released by NFHS, NAfME, and NAMM.    
•  Give special consideration to locker room/dressing room/green room usage and sanitation.