As various communities across the United States begin reopening K-12 schools, the CDC provides important guidance to help protect students, teachers, administrators, and staff while reducing the spread of COVID-19. Schools, in partnership with state and local health officials whenever possible, should decide how best to apply these recommendations based on the unique circumstances and needs of their communities. The approach should prioritize what is feasible, practical, acceptable, and tailored to each community’s situation. Health services within schools may also refer to CDC’s Guidance for U.S. Healthcare Facilities and the Ten Ways Healthcare Systems Can Operate Effectively During the COVID-19 Pandemic for additional support. These recommendations are designed to complement—not replace—any existing state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety regulations that schools must follow.
Preparing for a Safe Return to School: Understanding the latest research on transmission risks alongside the benefits and challenges of reopening schools
Key Principles to Consider
The risk of COVID-19 transmission rises with the number of people students or staff interact with and the length of those interactions. In schools, transmission risk can be categorized as follows:
Lowest Risk: Fully virtual classes, activities, and events where no in-person contact occurs.
Moderate Risk: Small, in-person groups where students remain with the same teacher and cohort throughout the day without mixing with other groups. Students maintain at least six feet of distance and avoid sharing materials. This may include hybrid models or staggered schedules to reduce class sizes.
Highest Risk: Full in-person classes where students are close together, share materials, and frequently mix with other groups.
COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory droplets when people speak, cough, or sneeze. It can also spread if individuals touch contaminated surfaces and then touch their face. Thus, personal preventive actions such as handwashing and staying home when sick, combined with environmental cleaning, are critical measures. Fortunately, there are many steps school leaders can take to reduce exposure and limit COVID-19 spread during school activities.
After reviewing these guidelines, school leaders can utilize the CDC’s K-12 Schools Readiness and Planning Tool to better protect their students, staff, and local communities.
Encouraging Behaviors that Minimize Spread
Schools should consider adopting multiple strategies to promote behaviors that help prevent COVID-19 transmission.
Staying Home When Necessary
Inform staff and families about when it is appropriate to stay home and the criteria for returning to school. Encourage sick employees and students or those recently exposed to COVID-19 to stay home without fear of penalties. Schools should create policies supporting this and communicate them clearly. Avoid rewarding perfect attendance, do not penalize absenteeism, and consider offering virtual learning or telework options when possible. Staff and students should remain home if they test positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms, or if they have had recent close contact with someone infected. CDC guidelines can help determine when staff can safely return to work after illness or exposure.
Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquette
Teach and consistently reinforce proper handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When soap and water aren’t available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol for staff and older children who can use it safely. Encourage covering coughs and sneezes with tissues, disposing of them immediately, and washing hands thoroughly afterward. These practices are essential to reduce spread.
Use of Cloth Face Coverings
Promote the use of cloth face coverings, especially for staff and older students, though younger children may find wearing masks all day challenging. Face coverings are particularly important when physical distancing is difficult. Remind individuals not to touch their masks and to wash hands frequently. Provide clear guidance on proper use, removal, and cleaning of cloth masks. Cloth masks are not recommended for children under 2, anyone having difficulty breathing, unconscious individuals, or those unable to remove masks without help. Cloth masks mainly protect others by reducing the spread from asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals and are not medical-grade PPE.
Ensuring Adequate Supplies
Support healthy hygiene by providing enough soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (for appropriate users), paper towels, tissues, disinfectant wipes, cloth masks (when possible), and no-touch trash cans.
Posting Signs and Messages
Display signs in prominent areas like entrances and restrooms promoting everyday protective measures and proper hygiene. Use public address systems for regular announcements on preventing COVID-19 spread. Share educational messages through school websites, emails, and social media to reinforce behaviors that limit transmission. Free CDC print and digital resources are available on their communications resource page for additional support.
Maintaining Healthy Environments
Schools may want to adopt a variety of strategies to help keep their environments healthy and safe.
Cleaning and Disinfection
Frequently touched surfaces such as playground equipment, door handles, sink faucets, and drinking fountains should be cleaned and disinfected at least once daily or as often as possible between uses. Limit sharing of items like gym equipment, art supplies, toys, and games, or ensure they are cleaned between uses. Drivers of school buses and other transport vehicles should follow safety protocols including hand hygiene and use of cloth face coverings. Refer to guidance for bus transit operators for proper cleaning and disinfecting of vehicles. Establish a regular cleaning schedule to increase the frequency of these practices. Ensure cleaning products are used and stored safely and correctly, kept out of reach of children, and meet EPA disinfection standards. Avoid using cleaning products near children and ensure proper ventilation to prevent inhalation of fumes.
Shared Objects
Discourage sharing of items that are difficult to disinfect. Keep each child’s belongings separate, using labeled containers, cubbies, or designated areas. Provide enough supplies to minimize sharing of high-touch materials, such as assigning individual art supplies or equipment, or limit use to one group at a time with cleaning between uses. Avoid sharing electronics, toys, books, and other learning materials as much as possible.
Ventilation
Make sure ventilation systems are functioning properly and increase the circulation of outdoor air by opening windows and doors where it is safe to do so. Do not open windows or doors if it could pose a safety or health risk, such as falls or triggering asthma symptoms among students.
Water Systems
After extended facility shutdowns, take necessary steps to ensure water systems—including sinks, drinking fountains, and decorative features—are safe to use to reduce the risk of diseases like Legionnaire’s. While drinking fountains should be cleaned and sanitized regularly, encourage staff and students to bring their own water bottles to reduce touching and use.
Modified Layouts
Arrange seating and desks at least six feet apart whenever possible. Position desks to face the same direction instead of facing each other, or have students sit on one side of tables with adequate spacing. On school buses, try to space children apart by seating one per row and skipping rows if feasible.
Physical Barriers and Guides
Install physical barriers such as sneeze guards or partitions in places where maintaining six feet of distance is difficult, like reception areas. Use physical guides such as floor tape or sidewalk markings and wall signs to help staff and students keep six feet apart in lines or hallways, including creating one-way routes when possible.
Communal Spaces
Close shared spaces like dining halls and playgrounds with common equipment if possible. If not, stagger use times and clean and disinfect between groups. Consider adding physical barriers such as plastic screens between bathroom sinks if spacing of six feet is not achievable.
Food Service
Encourage children to bring meals from home if possible, or serve individually plated meals in classrooms rather than communal cafeterias, while taking care to accommodate food allergies. Use disposable food service items like utensils and dishes when possible; if reusable items are used, handle them with gloves and wash thoroughly with hot water and soap or in a dishwasher. Individuals should wash hands after removing gloves or handling used food items. For any events offering food, provide pre-packaged boxes or bags for each attendee instead of buffet or family-style meals. Avoid sharing food and utensils and ensure allergy safety.
Maintaining Healthy Operations
Schools may want to implement various strategies to ensure healthy and safe operations.
Protections for Staff and Students at Higher Risk for Severe COVID-19
Provide options for staff at higher risk for severe illness that reduce their exposure, such as teleworking or modified duties. Similarly, offer students at higher risk opportunities for virtual learning or other accommodations. Ensure that policies protect the privacy of those with underlying medical conditions, consistent with applicable laws.
Regulatory Awareness
Stay informed about local and state regulations regarding group gatherings to determine whether events can take place.
Gatherings, Visitors, and Field Trips
Whenever possible, hold group events, meetings, and gatherings virtually. If in-person events are held, promote social distancing of at least six feet and limit group sizes. Restrict nonessential visitors, volunteers, and external group activities, especially for those from outside the local area. Favor virtual alternatives for field trips, assemblies, special performances, parent meetings, and spirit nights. Explore options for sporting events that minimize COVID-19 transmission risks to players, families, coaches, and the wider community.
Identifying Small Groups and Cohorting
Keep student and staff groups as consistent as possible, with the same children staying with the same staff members—especially all day for younger children and as much as possible for older students. Limit mixing between different groups when feasible.
Staggered Scheduling
Implement staggered arrival and dismissal times or locations by cohort, or use other measures to reduce contact between groups and minimize direct interaction with parents. When possible, encourage flexible work locations and hours to support social distancing recommendations, particularly as advised by local health authorities.
Designated COVID-19 Point of Contact
Assign a staff member—such as the school nurse—to manage COVID-19-related concerns. Make sure all staff and families know who this person is and how to reach them.
Participation in Community Response Efforts
Consider collaborating with local authorities by participating in broader community COVID-19 response efforts, such as serving on local response committees.
Communication Systems
Establish systems for:
- Staff and families to self-report symptoms, positive tests, or exposures to COVID-19 while following privacy laws and regulations like FERPA.
- Informing staff, families, and the community about school closures or restrictions implemented to limit COVID-19 exposure.
Leave and Absence Policies
Adopt flexible sick leave policies that allow staff to stay home if they are ill, exposed, or caring for sick family members. Review and update policies related to leave, telework, and employee pay. Ensure that leave policies do not penalize staff for taking necessary time off and accommodate those needing to care for children during school or childcare closures. Develop clear policies for returning to school after COVID-19 illness, guided by CDC’s recommendations on ending isolation and quarantine.
Back-Up Staffing Plan
Track absenteeism among students and staff, cross-train employees, and maintain a roster of trained substitutes or back-up personnel.
Staff Training
Provide training on all safety procedures, preferably virtually or with social distancing in place during in-person sessions.
Recognizing Signs and Symptoms
If possible, conduct daily health screenings, including temperature checks and symptom monitoring, for staff and students. Health checks should be performed respectfully, safely, and in accordance with privacy laws. Schools may refer to CDC’s guidance for child care programs and general business screening FAQs for examples of screening procedures.
Sharing Facilities
Encourage any groups or organizations that share school facilities to follow these health and safety considerations as well.
Supporting Coping and Resilience
Encourage staff and students to take breaks from COVID-19 news, including social media, if feeling overwhelmed. Promote healthy habits like eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and finding time to relax. Encourage open conversations with trusted individuals about concerns and feelings. Consider displaying information about the national distress hotline (1-800-985-5990) or texting TalkWithUs to 66746.
Preparing for When Someone Gets Sick
Schools may want to put in place several strategies to be ready if someone becomes ill.
Advise Staff and Families on Home Isolation Guidelines
Staff members or students who are sick should not return to school until they meet CDC’s criteria for ending home isolation.
Isolate and Transport Sick Individuals
Ensure that staff and families understand that they or their children should stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive, or have been exposed to someone with symptoms or a confirmed case. They should notify school officials—such as the designated COVID-19 point of contact—if this occurs. Immediately separate any staff or students showing symptoms like fever, cough, or difficulty breathing while at school. Those who are ill should go home or seek medical care depending on symptom severity and follow CDC guidance for care. Collaborate with school nurses and healthcare providers to designate an isolation room or area for individuals with symptoms or positive tests who are asymptomatic. Healthcare personnel should use appropriate precautions as outlined in CDC guidance for caring for COVID-19 patients. Procedures should be in place for safely transporting sick individuals home or to a medical facility, including notifying ambulance or hospital staff in advance if COVID-19 is suspected.
Cleaning and Disinfection
Close off spaces used by a sick person and avoid using them until after cleaning and disinfecting. Wait at least 24 hours before cleaning; if that’s not possible, wait as long as possible. Follow safe and proper use and storage instructions for cleaning products, ensuring they are kept out of reach of children.
Notify Health Officials and Close Contacts
Following state and local regulations, school administrators should promptly inform local health authorities, staff, and families of any COVID-19 cases, while keeping information confidential in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Notify individuals who had close contact with the infected person to stay home, monitor for symptoms, and follow CDC guidance if symptoms arise.