School boards and schools (publicly funded and private schools) are expected to employ multiple protective strategies and a layering of controls to support healthier and safer environments for students and staff as detailed below. There is not one specific measure that will prevent transmission from occurring in schools, but rather there are multiple structural and individual elements that contribute to making schools healthier spaces and reduce the risk of infection to in-person attendees.

Each of the control measures listed below provides some benefit in reducing spread. However, it is the combination and consistent application of these layered controls as a bundle that is most effective for reducing disease spread in schools.

Screening

All staff and students must self-screen every day before attending school. School boards should provide parents with a checklist to perform daily screening of their children before arriving at school and self-assessment tools should be made available to staff to ensure awareness of possible symptoms of COVID‑19. The province will continue to provide a screening tool for use by all school boards and may update this throughout the school year. Local public health units may designate a commensurate or more restrictive screening tool for local use.

All staff and students who are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID‑19 as identified in the screening tool, must not attend school and should follow the guidance provided in the screening tool, which may include seeking appropriate medical attention as required, and/or getting tested for COVID‑19, if eligible.

On-site screening

The ministry may direct school boards and schools to perform daily on-site confirmation of self-screening, such as during a period of potential higher transmission (for example, after a holiday period). School boards are expected to have a process in place to implement on-site confirmation of self-screening of individuals prior to or upon their arrival at school, if directed to do so.

If the ministry directs school boards and schools to perform daily on-site confirmation of self-screening students, staff, and visitors will need to provide daily confirmation or proof that they have self-screened, in a form deemed appropriate and accessible by the school or school board (for example, proof of completed paper copy of screener, mobile application indicating a "pass") prior to or upon their arrival at school. The principal and those designated within the school will be responsible for ensuring all students, staff and visitors have completed and passed their daily COVID‑19 self-screen.

If deemed accessible by the school or school board, results from the online provincial screening tool can also be downloaded as a PDF or emailed to the school.

Any staff, student or visitor that does not pass the screening procedures should not attend school.

Student masks

Students in Grades 1 to 12 are required to wear properly fitted non-medical or cloth masks indoors in school, including in hallways and during classes, as well as on school vehicles.

Masks may be temporarily removed indoors to consume food or drink, with a minimum distance of two metres maintained between cohorts and as much distancing as possible within a cohort (read cafeteria use and lunch protocols).

Students are not required to wear masks outdoors.

Students in kindergarten are strongly encouraged but not required to wear non-medical or cloth masks in indoor spaces, as well as on school vehicles.

School boards can continue to refer to Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Public Health Ontario (PHO) (PDF) for guidance on appropriate mask types and usage.

Students are expected to bring their own masks to wear on student transportation and at school. Non-medical 3-ply masks will also be made available by schools for students if needed.

At the advice of the local public health unit, schools and school boards may choose to implement additional masking measures based on local circumstances.

Note additional guidance in the music section.

Exceptions

Reasonable exceptions to the requirement to wear masks are expected to be put in place by schools and school boards. Boards are asked to carefully review their masking exceptions policies and ensure that students are supported to wear masks to the greatest extent possible.

Students with sensory or breathing difficulties may be exempted by the school principal, guided by school board policies.

Staff personal protective equipment (PPE)

School boards will continue to provide school staff and school bus drivers, school bus monitors and student aides with required PPE, including medical masks (surgical/procedural)/non-fit-tested N95 masks, eye protection and other PPE based on their specific role/job functions (for example, gloves, gowns).

Required PPE and critical supplies and equipment (for example, disinfectant, hand sanitizer), will continue to be provided to school boards and transportation consortia through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the government's pandemic supply chain.

Medical masks (surgical/procedural) or non-fit-tested N95 masks are required to be worn by school staff and visitors indoors in school, including in hallways and during classes. Staff are not required to wear medical masks outdoors when two metres of distance is maintained from others. Staff must maintain at least two metres distance when consuming food/drinks.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) including both medical masks (surgical/procedural) or non-fit-tested N95 masks and eye protection (for example, face shield or goggles and some, but not all, safety glasses) is required for education staff working in close contact with students who are not wearing masks both indoors and outdoors, as per occupational health and safety requirements.

Reasonable exceptions to the requirement for staff to wear masks will apply.

Eye protection is not required for education staff working with students who wear masks. Eye protection for school bus drivers should not interfere with the safe operation of vehicles and is intended to protect drivers during close contact with students, such as during boarding and exiting.

Special education needs

Where necessary for faces to be seen for lip reading to support students who are deaf or hard of hearing, masks with clear sections may be appropriate.

Where staff are required to perform an Aerosol Generating Medical Procedure (AGMP) or required to be in the same room when an AGMP is being performed, N95 respirators (fit tested) will be provided.

Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette

Appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette are among the most important protective strategies. Schools should train students on appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, including the use of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), and reinforce its use.

This can involve scheduling breaks to allow students to wash their hands at appropriate times during the school day.

Hand hygiene should be conducted by anyone entering the school and incorporated into the daily schedule at regular intervals during the day, above and beyond what is usually recommended (for example, before eating food, after using the washroom).

Staff and students should be provided with targeted, age-appropriate education in proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. Local public health units can provide additional guidance. Age-appropriate posters or signage should be placed around the school.

  • Soap and water are preferred as the most effective method and least likely to cause harm if accidentally ingested.
  • Alcohol based hand rub (ABHR) can be used by children. It is most effective when hands are not visibly soiled.
  • For any dirt, blood, body fluids (urine/feces), it is preferred that hands be washed with soap and water.
  • Safe placement of the alcohol based hand rub (ABHR) to avoid consumption is important, especially for young children.
  • Support or modifications should be provided to allow students with special needs to regularly perform hand hygiene as independently as possible.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
  • Tissues and lined, no-touch waste baskets (for example, foot pedal-operated, hand sensor, open basket) are to be provided.

Staff and students should have the supplies they need to conduct appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette and these supplies should be easily accessible.

Alcohol based hand rub (ABHR) with a minimum 60% alcohol concentration must be available throughout the school (including ideally at the entry point to each classroom) and/or plain liquid soap in dispensers, sinks and paper towels in dispensers.

Required critical supplies, for example, hand sanitizer, will continue to be provided to school boards through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the government's pandemic supply chain.

Refer to Public Health Ontario's how to wash your hands (PDF) fact sheet.

Refer to Health Canada's hard-surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers (COVID‑19): list of hand sanitizers authorized by Health Canada, including which sanitizers may be appropriate for different groups of staff and students.

Distancing and congregating

As much distancing as possible between students, between students and staff and between staff members should always be promoted. Physical distancing measures are to be layered with other public health measures such as screening, hand hygiene, cohorting, enhanced cleaning and masking.

Schools are encouraged to remove unnecessary furniture and place desks with as much distancing as possible, and to allow teachers as much teaching space as possible.

Periods of student movement should be staggered, if possible, to limit student congregation in the hallways.

Congregation of teachers/staff should be limited to minimize potential for adult-to-adult transmission.

Where possible, special consideration for physical distancing should be taken for classrooms with fixed equipment (for example, science labs or technological education classrooms).

School arrival and departure and signage

Schools should develop school arrival and departure procedures that support physical distancing where possible. Approaches may include:

  • maximizing the use of all possible entrances and exits to support the beginning and end of the school days
  • creating designated routes for students to get to and from classrooms
  • providing visual cues or physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signs/posters on walls, to guide appropriate distances in lines/queues and at other times (for example, guides for creating "one-way routes" in hallways)

Hand sanitizer should be available in school entrances and exits and in classrooms.

Recess and breaks outdoors

Students are required to stay within their cohort during recess and breaks outdoors, and distancing should be maintained between cohorts as much as possible.

Shared materials outdoors are permitted, with appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

Inclement weather days

School boards are required to develop inclement weather plans and policies which may include pivoting to remote learning. These plans should include an approach for heat days.

School boards should develop the plans in consultation with their local public health units.

Cleaning and disinfection standards and protocols

Cleaning protocols

School boards should review their cleaning protocols and reinforce them if needed to meet current public health requirements.

Refer to Public Health Ontario's environmental cleaning fact sheet (PDF).

Refer to Health Canada's hard-surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers (COVID‑19) for approved products.

Cleaning products

Products that provide both the cleaning and disinfection action are preferable due to ease of use (for example, hydrogen peroxide products). Only use cleaning and disinfectant products that have a drug identification number (DIN). Check the expiry date of the products prior to use. These should be used according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Required critical supplies, for example, disinfectant, will continue to be provided to school boards through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the government's pandemic supply chain.

Cleaning program

School boards should develop a program for cleaning and disinfecting schools, including reviews of existing practices to determine where enhancements might be made, including frequency and timing of cleaning and disinfection, areas to clean and/or disinfect, choice of cleaning products, child safety, staffing, signage, and PPE for cleaning staff.

High touch surfaces

Focus should be on regular hand hygiene to reduce the risk of infection related to high touch surfaces. Cleaning plus disinfection twice daily is suggested at a minimum, however, more frequent cleaning and disinfection may be necessary, depending on the frequency of use and extent of soilage. This includes washrooms (for example, toilet fixtures, faucets), eating areas (for example, tables, sinks, countertops), doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, touch screens, push buttons, handrails, computers, photocopiers, and sports equipment.

Shared materials

Shared materials are important for learning (for example, toys for imaginative play in kindergarten, manipulatives for math, computers and other tech materials, books, art supplies, indoor physical education equipment and shared outdoor equipment). The use of shared materials is permitted. The risk associated with transmission with shared objects is low. The focus should be on regular hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette to reduce the risk of infection related to shared equipment, particularly when regular cleaning of shared objects is not feasible.

Shared spaces

Shared homerooms, libraries (for group and individual use, for example, drop-in study time, etc.) and computer/technology labs, are permitted. Use of lockers/cubbies is permitted. In shared indoor spaces, masking and as much distancing as possible should be maintained.

Cafeteria use and lunch protocols

Students may eat together:

  • outdoors within a cohort
  • indoors, with a minimum distance of two metres maintained between cohorts and as much distancing as possible within a cohort

Larger schools should employ various means to limit the number of students and cohorts eating lunch in proximity to each other (examples include staggered lunch periods, eating outdoors or in alternative spaces).

Use of cafeterias or other shared lunch spaces is permitted as follows:

  • Capacity limits should be established in alignment with the Reopening Ontario Act, and to enable consistent distancing of at least two metres between cohorts, and as much distancing as possible within cohorts.
  • For secondary schools: school boards are encouraged to develop a plan that reduces the number of students eating in proximity to each other as much as possible.
  • For elementary schools: where two metres of distancing between cohorts is not possible, students are to eat lunch in their classroom with their cohort or outdoors. Schools and educators are encouraged to support as normal conditions as possible within the classroom cohorts during lunch and breaks while ensuring distancing measures are maintained. This can include allowing students to sit in groupings and/or circles to facilitate engagement and conversation between peers with as much distancing as possible within a cohort).

Secondary students are permitted to eat off-campus.

Each student is encouraged to bring their own drink bottle that is labeled, kept with them during the day and not shared.

Use of shared microwaves/kitchen space is permitted.

Food programs

Nutrition/third party food programs and non-instructional food events (such as a pizza day) are permitted to operate, provided that food handlers use adequate food handling and safety practices.

Assemblies

Effective January 2022, elementary in-person school assemblies or other student/school gatherings will not be permitted. Virtual options should be offered instead.

For secondary schools, school assemblies or other student/school gatherings are permitted and should follow the relevant provincial requirements under the Reopening Ontario Act including alignment with provincial capacity limits and includes allowance for in-school student to student peer support programs such as "reading buddies".

Visitors

Any visitors to a school are required to self-screen and to wear a medical mask (for example, surgical/procedural) while on school premises. A medical mask will be provided by the school if needed.

In addition to the requirement for visitors to perform daily self-screening, school boards are expected to have a process in place to confirm the daily self-screening of all visitors prior to or upon their arrival at school.

At the advice of the local public health unit, school boards may be asked to restrict visitor access.