- Schools, working together with local health departments, have an important role in slowing the spread of diseases and protecting vulnerable students and staff, to help ensure students have safe and healthy learning environments.
- Guidance for child care programs and schools is organized into three categories based on the level of community transmission: 1) when there is no community transmission (preparedness phase), 2) when there is minimal to moderate community transmission, and 3) when there is substantial community transmission.
- Guidance is also provided for when a confirmed case has entered a school, regardless of the level of community transmission.
- All decisions about implementing school-based strategies (e.g., dismissals, event cancellations, other social distancing measures) should be made locally, in collaboration with local health officials who can help determine the level of transmission in the community. Information about level of transmission is available in CDC’s framework for mitigationpdf icon.
This interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the transmission and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will update this guidance as needed and as additional information becomes available. Please check the CDC COVID-19 website periodically for updated interim guidance.
Health officials are currently taking steps to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19 into US communities. Schools play an important role in this effort. Through collaboration and coordination with local health departments, schools should take steps to disseminate information about the disease and its potential transmission within their school community. Schools should prepare to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among their students and staff should local health officials identify such a need.
Schools should continue to collaborate, share information, and review plans with local health officials to help protect the whole school community, including those with special health needs. School plans should be designed to complement other community mitigation strategies to protect high risk populations and the healthcare system, and minimize disruption to teaching and learning and protect students and staff from social stigma and discrimination. Plans should build on everyday practices (e.g., encouraging hand hygiene, monitoring absenteeism, communicating routinely) that include strategies for before, during, and after a possible outbreak.
This interim guidance is intended for administrators of public and private child care programs and K-12 schools. Administrators are individuals who oversee the daily operations of child care programs and K-12 schools, and may include positions like child care program directors, school district superintendents, principals, and assistant principals. This guidance is intended for administrators at both the school/facility and district level.
This guidance will help child care programs, schools, and their partners understand how to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 within child care and school communities and facilities. It also aims to help child care programs, schools, and partners react quickly should a case be identified. The guidance includes considerations to help administrators plan for the continuity of teaching and learning if there is community spread of COVID-19.
Schools, working together with local health departments, have an important role in slowing the spread of diseases to help ensure students have safe and healthy learning environments. Schools serve students, staff, and visitors from throughout the community. All of these people may have close contact in the school setting, often sharing spaces, equipment, and supplies.
Information about COVID-19 in children is somewhat limited, but the information that is available suggests that children with confirmed COVID-19 generally had mild symptoms. Person-to-person spread from or to children, as among adults, is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Recent studies indicate that people who are infected but do not have symptoms likely also play a role in the spread of COVID-19.
However, a small percentage of children have been reported to have more severe illness. Despite lower risk of serious illness, children with COVID-19-like symptoms should avoid contact with older adults and people of any age who may be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.