COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER
2
Reopening protocol for K-12 Schools
Revised 10/27/20
Special guidance for the TK-12 setting
All K-12 schools in California counties that are in Tier 1 of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy,
including Los Angeles County, are prohibited from reopening for in-person instruction. During this period,
when schools are generally restricted to remote learning, four types of on-site programming are permitted.
In compliance with this order and aside from these exceptions, K-12 schools in Los Angeles County may
open only for remote learning. During this period, employees and staff, as defined below, may report to
school campus for work in order to support essential operations, implement of remote learning or conduct
on of the four permitted types of on-campus learning. These are:
• Day care for school-aged children and/or child care programs located in schools,
• LEAs and schools that offer day care services for children at shools must be in compliance with
the DPH protocol for Programs Providing Day Care for School-Aged Children or the Guidance for
ECE Providers. Programs that wish to provide day care for school aged children at schools should
communicate with their Community Care Licensing Regional Office to inquire regarding the
availability of waivers for licensed child care facilities and license-exempt providers due to COVID-
19. For additional information see PIN 20-22-CCP.
• Schools that provide child care programs for school-aged children on their campus must file the
notification for Child Care Services for School-aged Children on K-12 School sites with LAC DPH.
• Specialized services for defined subgroups of children who need in person services and
supports
• LEAs and schools are not required to provide specialized, in-person services, but those that do so
may serve students with IEPs, students who are English Language learners, and students with
needs that cannot be met through a virtual instruction platform. These students may be served as
needed, provided that the overall number of students present on-site does not exceed 25% of total
student body at any one time. An exception to this 25% rule is schools that have received a waiver
to return students in grades TK – 2 for in person instruction. Schools that have received a waiver
are permitted to bring all students in grades TK – 2 back to campus including high need students
in those grades. In that situation, the school may also bring up to 25% of total student enrollment
in grades 3 and above at any one time for specialized support and services for high need students
in those grades, as long as the school can adhere to distancing, infection control, and cohorting
requirements.
• Specialized services may include but are not limited to occupational therapy services, speech and
language services, other medical services, behavioral services, educational support services as
part of a targeted intervention strategy, or assessments, such as those related to English Learner
status, Individualized Education Plans and other required assessments.
• No child may be part of more than one cohort. Students who are part of a cohort may leave the
cohort for receipt of additional services. Any additional services, however, must be provided one-
on-one by the appropriate specialist in a secure space that is apart from all other people.
• Schools must agree to cooperate with DPH with regard to screening, monitoring and documentation
that will be required to permit careful scrutiny of health outcomes associated with this initial period
of expansion.
• To the extent consistent with specialized needs of students in a given cohort, use of outdoor space
for at least 50% of the school day is strongly encouraged
• LEAs and schools that choose to implement these on-site services for students with specialized
needs, must inform the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health of their plans prior to start
of services. If a school has already been approved for a waiver to reopen for students in grades TK
– 2, the school still is required to file a notification to provide services to students with special needs