Students and staff must have their face covering on as soon as they arrive on site, such as getting out of personal transportation or walking to school. Students riding buses must wear face coverings.

Click here to download a reference handout for students riding the bus.

Student transportation may include many different sizes of buses and numbers of students. Students boarding the bus should be screened at home prior to boarding. Windows should remain open to increase ventilation whenever possible.

When considering spacing of students while being transported, 6-feet of distancing is not required. The Washington State Department of Health guidance will be followed including:

• Keep riders as far apart as possible on the bus. Consider how to reduce occupancy and increase space on the bus through scheduling (e.g., through staggered arrivals/departures, A/B scheduling) or add buses where possible.
• Require assigned seating.
• If possible, seat students with household members or members of their school group/cohort.
• Maximize outside air and keep windows open as much as possible.
• Encourage walking or biking where safe or being driven by caregivers when feasible.
• Require riders and staff members to wear a cloth face covering or acceptable alternative.
• Encourage students to wash or sanitize hands when they leave their home or classroom
  immediately before boarding the bus.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, including the tops and backs of seats, using an EPA-registered product and following manufacturers’ instructions.
  

Click here to be redirected to Snohomish School District bus schedules and routes.

Click here to download a reference handout for students riding the bus.

Frequent cleaning procedures for commonly touched surfaces on the bus is required. Follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including:

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces on school buses at least daily or between use as much as possible.
• Develop a schedule for increased frequency of routine cleaning and disinfection.
• If transport vehicles (e.g., buses) are used by the school, drivers should practice all safety actions and protocols as indicated for other staff (e.g., hand hygiene, cloth face coverings). To clean and disinfect school buses or other transport vehicles, see Cengters for Disease Control and OPrevention guidance for bus transit operators.
  • Develop a schedule for increased, routine cleaning and disinfection.
  • Ensure safe and correct use and storage of cleaning and disinfection products, including storing products securely away from children. The district will use products that meet Environmental Protection Agency disinfection criteria.
  • Avoid using cleaning products near children and ensure there is adequate ventilation to prevent children or themselves from inhaling toxic fumes.

Click here to download a reference handout for students riding the bus.

A driver or other staff working to transport students would be considered medium transmission risk, requiring they:

• Wear non-cloth disposables, such as dust masks, KN95 or other non-approved foreign-system NIOSH-style filtering facepiece respirators, or non-FDA approved procedure masks, or
• Wear a face shield with a cloth face covering.

The district will consider leaving seats open near the driver to reduce exposure. A driver or other staff working to transport students, including students with disabilities or other students that may require the driver or staff to be in close proximity, where at least 6-feet of distance is not maintained, and includes job tasks requiring sustained close-together (less than 3-feet apart) work or more than 10 minutes in an hour multiple times a day would be considered high transmission risk, requiring at least Industrial use N95, R95, or P95 or foreign-system non-NIOSH approved filtering facepiece respirator (or other particulate respirator If an employer cannot reasonably obtain an approved filtering facepiece respirator, then a face shield plus an FDA-approved KN95 mask, dust mask, or procedural mask is an acceptable alternative.

When working in close proximity with someone who may not be able to consistently wear at least a cloth face covering, best practices may also include:

• Wearing a disposable gown that is changed between each close interaction.
• Frequent hand washing and reminders not to touch face.

Click here to download a reference handout for students riding the bus.