At Tuesday night’s meeting of the North Penn School Board of Directors, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Dietrich presented the “Return to Play” procedures for athletics and marching band activities within the district. At Dietrich’s recommendation, the board voted unanimously to approve the plan.
Extracurricular activities have been on an unprecedented hiatus since March when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close.
In an effort to begin returning to some sort of normalcy for student-athletes, NPSD has adopted recommendations from federal, state and local governments as well as the Centers for Disease Control, Pennsylvania departments of education and health, and the National Federation of High Schools to develop this Return to Play Plan.
The 36-page document, which can be viewed in its entirety here, outlines the specific requirements, accommodations and preventive measures the district will put into place in order for students to engage in sports and marching band for the 2020-21 school year.
The extensive precautions are intended to ensure student and staff health and safety, and the district acknowledged that the procedures may need to be modified or updated as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve.
In short, if Montgomery County remains in the Green phase, sports-related activities enter Return to Play Plan Phase Two, which means that low risk sports can begin practices and competitions, moderate risk sports can begin practices, and high risk sports can begin no-contact practices.
The risk classifications have been defined as follows:
In Phase Two, athletes should refrain from handshakes, fist-bumps, high fives, etc. They should frequently wash or sanitize hands, and limit shared equipment or objects.
Phase Two also encompasses most of the policies and procedures from Phase One, including that social distancing requirements should be adhered to whenever possible; vulnerable individuals should not participate unless they have a doctor’s note; coaches and students must be screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 prior to each workout/practice/competition, and responses should be recorded and stored.
Students are not able to enter the school building except to use designated facilities or to be seen by the athletic trainer.
As far as spectators, there will be strict limits in accordance with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s guidelines on gatherings, that vary based on space and location.
The procedures for North Penn Marching Knights will be similar. Students and staff will be screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and be encouraged to wash hands and use hand sanitizer, as well as personal protective equipment wherever possible. Students must maintain social distancing and must not arrive early or stay late to socialize. Shared equipment must be properly disinfected between users.
Students may be divided into practice “pods” of 5-10 students, with whom they will work. Their arrival and departure times may also be staggered in conjunction with their podmates.
One resident who reviewed the document, Dr. John Siegler, voiced concerns about spectators for aquatic sports, which he said was not addressed in the district’s Return to Play document.
“There are a couple of pieces that aren’t quite fleshed out yet. In particular, the natatorium standards for who can be present during competitions,” said Siegler. “There’s a reference to USA Swimming but their guidelines don’t address that issue at all… It doesn’t address anything about ventilation standards or how many people can be what square foot of building.”
Dietrich said the current plan could be approved now, and Siegler’s concerns could be taken into consideration later.
“I will note that as we continue to get guidance from the state, we will continue to make adjustments,” Dietrich said. “This is as it stands, as of today, July 7, 2020.”
According to Solicitor Kyle Sommers, each modification — and there are likely to be many — of the plan must be met with board approval.
“As part of that guidance, it did indicate that adjustments to the district’s health and safety plan, as situations occur, updates to that plan should be brought back before the board for approval of each plan revision,” Sommers said, “and that board-approved revision be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education so that they have the latest board-approved version of our health and safety plan.”
“It’s likely that for all of the upcoming board Action Meetings, this may be just a constant item of approving revisions to our plan that is certainly a work in progress,” Sommers said.
See also:
North Penn School Board Recommends Approval Of Anti-Racist Resolution, Equity Statement
North Penn School Board Approves Revised Property Tax And Rent Rebate Program
North Penn School Board Passes 2020-2021 Budget With 2.6% Tax Increase
Editorial: School District Deserves Praise For Handling Of 2020 Graduation, Commencement
North Penn Employee Placed On Administrative Leave Following Comments Opposing Black Lives Matter
