When students and adults return to their school buildings for in-person instruction, it will be vitally important that the physical spaces they occupy are configured and maintained in a way that provides the maximum possible protection from spreading the coronavirus.
School districts will follow health guidance related to social distancing and other safety measures that must be put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. To meet the requirements of that guidance, school districts or other applicable schools may need to rearrange or re-purpose physical space within their buildings, expand buildings’ or districts’ footprints or alter existing spaces through construction or changes in programming or operation. Several of these alternatives have implications for fire code compliance and may require code review by the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED’s) Office of Facilities Planning.
Many questions will arise as districts or other applicable schools balance fire safety and building security needs with efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. NYSED’s team is in consultation with other state agencies to ensure that all factors are fully considered, and the risks to building occupants are minimized across the full range of potential concerns.
Health and Safety
The District will follow all guidance related to health and safety. This will include meeting social distancing requirements and cleaning frequently touched spaces regularly to prevent spread of infection. These requirements will be addressed in more detail in other parts of the NYSED ReOpening Guidance.
Fire Code Compliance
The District does not anticipate making any changes or additions to facilities requiring the review by the Office of Facilities Planning (OFP). Additionally, the District does not expect to expand our square footage in order to enable improved social distancing.
Doorways
The District’s stairs and corridor doors have closers with automatic hold opens. These doors are normally held in the open position and are automatically released by the fire alarm system. The function, position, and operation of those doors will remain unchanged.
Emergency Drills
The District will conduct standard operations and procedures to the best of our abilities without deviating from current requirements. Fire (evacuation) Drills and Lockdown Drills will be conducted without exceptions. Methods to promote and provide for social distancing during the evacuation drills will be determined and applied.
Inspections
The District will complete and submit the required Building Condition Survey or Visual Inspections according to the identified deadline.
Lead Testing
The District will abide by the statutory requirement that lead testing occur in 2020.
Plumbing Facilities and Fixtures
The District is not reducing the number of toilet and sink fixtures in the buildings thereby maintaining continued compliance with the minimum standards of the New York State Building Code. A schedule for cleaning and disinfecting the plumbing facilities and fixtures will be developed and adhered to.
Drinking Water Facilities
The District is not reducing the number of drinking water facilities in the buildings thereby maintaining continued compliance with the minimum standards of the New York State Building Code. A schedule for cleaning and disinfecting the drinking water facilities will be developed and adhered to.
Ventilation
The District will maintain adequate, code required ventilation (natural or mechanical) as designed and increase fresh air ventilation rate to the extent possible to aid in maintaining a healthy indoor air quality.