LINCOLN HIGH
COVID-19
RULES & PROCEDURES

Daily Self Screening
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
We are asking that you perform this every morning prior to sending your child to school. Please call the school attendance office at 402.436.1301 or log into ParentVue and notify us of your child’s absence through the system:


NOTE: While a student should never be penalized for missing school due to illness, many students come to school when they don’t feel well because they want to avoid missing class, a project, a test, etc. It is critical that this stops. Please know teachers will be accommodating when a student is out sick for whatever reason. Students will have access to the materials on Google Classroom, they can reach their teachers via email, and they will have opportunities to make up the materials. Due dates will be extended, make-up sessions will be provided, remote learning will be made available, etc. When a student does not feel well and is showing signs of COVID or another illness, the student should STAY HOME. We will work with the student to meet all of the academic requirements and experiences missed during this time.
Face Covering 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Multilayer face coverings are required by all individuals in the building.
- Face coverings reduce the spread of droplets containing the COVID-19 virus.
- Face coverings are the strategy to accommodate the school setting where six feet of physical distance is not practical.
- Exceptions based on disabilities and conditions will be made on an individual basis.
- Cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms.
- Face covering “breaks” will be provided when social distancing can be achieved.
- LPS will issue students two masks.
- Students/families will be responsible for their own mask laundering and returning to school each day with a mask.

Additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on face masks:
About Cloth Face Coverings
How to Wear Cloth Face Coverings
How to Make Cloth Face Coverings
How to Wash Cloth Face Coverings
Considerations for Wearing Cloth Face Coverings
Hand Hygiene 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Wash your hands often. When this is not an option, use hand sanitizer.
- Washing your hands, along with cleaning and disinfecting surfaces frequently touched, will reduce the spread of COVID-19
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
- Individuals should cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or apply hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Additional Information from the CDC on hand hygiene
Physical Distancing 
Limiting face-to-face contact with others is the best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing, also called “physical distancing,” means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home.
- Keeping physical distance from others will reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Maintain three to six feet of distance from others whenever possible.
- Any distance makes a difference. Space out as far as you can, where and when you can.
- Currently, large gatherings will not be held (e.g., theater, pep rallies, concerts, field trips, etc.).
- Classroom seating will be set up to maximize physical distancing between students. Students will need to play their part in keeping appropriate distance throughout the class period.
Cleaning & Disinfecting 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
LPS Custodial staff will be cleaning facilities daily and throughout the day.
- Each classroom will have a spray bottle of cleaner and paper towels. In order to maintain cleanliness as classes transition, teachers may ask students to help assist in cleaning their areas.
- Custodial staff will clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in common areas at midday and clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in common areas and classrooms at the end of the day.
- Other school staff (teachers, paraprofessional, etc.) will clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in the classroom, including the classroom door handle, between every period.
- While there will be cleaning supplies available to staff to help clean their classrooms and heavily used areas throughout the day, there will not be sufficient supplies to distribute to each individual student. Students are allowed to bring their own wipes and/or hand sanitizer for personal use.
School Entrance 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
We will have two locations for students to enter in the morning.
North Door: This is the main entrance on the north side of the building.
South Door: This is the entrance on the South end of the building.
- We encourage students to use the entrance that minimizes their movement inside the building when walking to their 1st-Period classes.
School Exit 
Students will be able to exit the building at any of the 44 exits.
- Students who leave for the day, for an appointment, or for lunch will be able to exit the building through any of the exit doors.
- Any student wishing to re-enter the building after exiting must re-enter the building through one of the two main entrances (North or South door).
Student IDs 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
While it has been LPS policy for students to display their student IDs at all times in school, adherence to this policy will be of increased importance this year.
- Students will receive a Student ID and a lanyard. This ID must be worn at all times.
- If a student comes to school without an ID, the student will need to get a temporary ID. The first two are free. After that, temporary IDs will cost $1 each.
- Replacement IDs can be purchased in the Counseling Center for $4.
Water Bottle 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
All “mouth on” water fountains in the building will be turned off and covered.
- We strongly encourage students to come to school with a water bottle filled with water.
- Bottle filling stations connected to specific water fountains (in the cafeteria and in Johnson Gym hallway) will be available for students to fill their bottles.
- Classroom sinks will also be available.
- Schools will provide daily disposable cups for students who do not have a water bottle.
Student Lockers 
Each student will have the opportunity to check out a locker. Please note, students are not required to have a locker, but it is something made available to all.
- Our hope is that all students who want a locker will be able to have their own, without sharing. This will help minimize crowds at lockers. If students need to share a locker, they should access it at different times during the day.
- We ask that students minimize trips to the locker throughout the day.
Restroom Procedures 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
- Students will complete a Google Form to sign-out to go to the bathroom. Jump Code: GFY5
- Students can use restrooms as normal as long as they wear their face coverings and refrain from congregating.
- Restrooms will be closed during the last 10 minutes of each class period.
Physical Education 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
All PE courses will be taught outdoors whenever practical.
- In weather emergency conditions (e.g., excessive heat warning, severe thunderstorm, air quality index alerts) teachers may utilize the gym space while physically distancing.
- Students will need to have appropriate footwear for PE as they will not be able to utilize the changing areas or locker rooms for changing at this time. The exception would be for aquatics classes, for which students will have two separate cohorts for changing with no more than five students in each swimming locker room at a time.
- Students in outdoor PE spaces will not need to wear a face covering during physical activity if they are distanced appropriately: 6 feet between all students at all times throughout the activity.
- It is recommended that students utilize bathrooms prior to coming to PE and that students have their water bottles filled prior to going outside for PE.
- Equipment will be available, but any type of shared equipment will be limited as much as possible.
- Equipment will be sanitized after use every 2 to 4 hours.
Media Center
- Masks are required in the media center.
- Students will need to sanitize hands upon entering and when leaving the library and will also need to scan in with an ID.
- This year, due to the pandemic, we will no longer be able to have snacks or lunch in the library, but will allow water bottles.
- We will be limiting occupancy to 100 students for social distancing purposes.
- Materials returned to the library will need to quarantine for 72 hours before being put in circulation again. Students will be encouraged to use the online catalog for book browsing and learning to access our eBook collections will be a priority.
- Games and makerspace items, unfortunately, will not be available unless we can sanitize the items and quarantine for 72 hours between uses.
- There will be no interlibrary loan in the district this year, meaning we cannot borrow books from other school libraries.
- The district has asked that we have no computers out for public use; students will currently not have access to printing
- Contact Paula McClung, media specialist, with questions: pmcclung@lps.org
- Other media center staff include:
- Loree Woods, media secretary
- Carter Hulinsky, media technician and archival specialist
- Nicole Bogus, AV technician and Chromebook specialist
Hallway Traffic Plan 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Passing periods for students will be much more restricted than pre-COVID. Strict adherence to this will help to minimize the number of contacts students have throughout the day.
- Students should map out their routes to each of their classes. While sometimes the route may not be the most efficient one in terms of distance, it will be the most efficient in terms of time (best traffic flow) and the safest in terms of exposure (less congestion and fewer contacts).
Hallways
- The West Hallway will be one-way traffic going South.
- The East Hallway will be one-way traffic going North.
- All hallways that run east <-> west will be two-way traffic.
- Halls Connecting Johnson Hall to South Building
- Weight Room Hall: one-way traffic going North.
- Locker Room Hall: one-way traffic going South.
- The halls running north <-> south in South Building will all be two-way traffic.
- This will be open during passing periods. The only reentry points will be North & South doors.
Stairwells
- EXCELLENCE & TRADITION (by Health & AP offices and Guidance Office): UP
- UNITY & DIVERSITY (by rooms 117 and 118): DOWN
- South (northern staircase near room S126): UP
- South (middle staircase near room S134): DOWN
- South (southern staircase near room S138): UP

Hallway Policies 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Because we want to minimize the amount of exposure students and staff have, we
must reduce the number of individuals people come in contact with throughout the day. A critical part of this will be maintaining clear, effective guidelines for transitioning throughout the building.
- Constant Movement: Hallways are conduits for getting from one class to the next. Students will not be allowed to congregate in the hallways, or to simply stand and visit with friends during passing periods. Hallways will have clear traffic patterns and students must be moving with the traffic.
- One-Way Traffic: One-way traffic patterns apply during morning arrival, passing periods, lunchtime, and dismissal. The purpose of one-way traffic is to create the most efficient and safest traffic pattern for students when transitioning to class. During class time, if a student is in the hallway (e.g., going to the office), the student may take the shortest route regardless of traffic pattern, as the hallway should be nearly vacant.
- Stay to Your Right: In hallways that are two-way traffic, students must walk on the right side of the hallway. This will minimize collisions and create the most efficient flow.
- Elevator Access: Students who have elevator access will be allowed to leave class a few minutes prior to the bell to avoid hallway congestion. These students will be able to take the shortest route to their destination regardless of traffic pattern, as the hallway should be nearly vacant.
Period Dismissal Times 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
In order to reduce the amount of traffic congestion in the hallways during passing period, we will be staggering dismissal times from class.
- Red Rooms: classrooms that have been designated a “Red Room” will be dismissed two minutes before the bell on Odd Periods.
- Black Rooms: classrooms that have been designated a “Black Room” will be dismissed two minutes before the bell on Even Periods.
Visitors to the Building
At this time, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department recommends the following procedures to reduce risk exposure and assist with contact tracing:
VIDEO: [English] [Español]

Breakfast Protocols 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria through our standard process with additional protocols in place:
- Students can eat in the cafeteria or outside the building.
- Students will also be able to pick up their breakfast near Room 117 and eat outside.
- Students should put their face coverings back on when finished eating.
Lunch Protocols 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Because students will have to remove their masks for lunch, our goal is to provide ample spacing between students.
- School lunch will still be available to all students. All students are also welcome to bring lunch to school.
- The serving line will not be self-serve. Items will be pre-cupped and the transaction will be touchless.
- Students will wear face coverings through the lunch line and remove their face covering once seated to eat.
- Students will put their face covering back on when they are done eating.
- Students will wash hands prior to lunch. Hand sanitizer will also be available.
- Students will face the same direction when possible or be spaced to not be directly across from one another.
- Tables and chairs will be wiped down between each lunch period.
- To minimize exposure, we will be increasing the number of locations where students can eat, which will allow for increased spacing. We will also be creating dedicated “masks on” zones where students who are not eating, can choose to spend their lunch period.
Eating Zones (masks off allowed while eating)
Cafeteria
- There will be a modified seating arrangement in the cafeteria to increase distance between students.
- Students will only be allowed to sit in designated seats. Once seated, a student will not be allowed to change seats. Four people per octagon table. Two people per rectangle table.
- Students will not be allowed to move furniture to adjust the predetermined seating arrangement.
Media Center Hallway
- There will be limited seating in this area, but students will be allowed to eat lunch at one of the designated tables or benches.
Johnson Gym Hallway
- Students are allowed to eat their lunch at one of the designated tables or benches set up in Johnson Gym Hallway.
Beechner Field
- Weather permitting, students will be allowed to eat in the bleachers.
Food-Free Zones (masks must be worn at all times)
Media Center
- This will be a quiet zone for students to spend the lunch period in. No food or drinks will be allowed.
Classrooms
- No eating is allowed in classrooms during class time.
Positive Case of COVID-19 
LPS will be notified by Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD).
- LLCHD will lead all contact tracing working closely with LPS staff. Those students and staff with direct exposure that need to self-isolate will be contacted directly.
- All families and staff will be notified when there is a positive case in their building and given instructions for next steps as directed by LLCHD.
Return to School Following Exclusion 
Once a student is excluded from the school environment, they may return if they satisfy the following:
- Return with written permission by a healthcare provider.
- If tested positive: At least 10 calendar days have passed, at least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication, and other symptoms have improved.
- If tested positive and asymptomatic: At least 10 calendar days have passed since positive collection date.
- If tested negative with symptoms: No longer have a fever (24 hours) and other symptoms have improved.
Transportation 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
- Students and staff will wear a face covering while being transported.
- Students will apply hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting the bus.
- Students will have assigned seats with a maximum of two students per seat.
- Households will be seated together.
- Windows will be down as often as practical.
Community Learning Center (CLC) 
- CLCs will follow the same protocols as when school is in session.
- Families will need to sign a waiver for students to participate.
- Students will be grouped with the same children and adults from day to day.
- SNAC, Community Cafes and other parent and leadership groups will meet virtually rather than on site unless required as part of funding guidelines for federal and other grants.
Attendance Protocols 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Attendance in this environment is still critical. With that said, we understand that technology, physical transitions, and the newness of circumstances may create some new challenges in terms of attendance. We will do our best to work with you and your student, giving grace, being flexible, and problem solving together. One of the key components to making this work is communication in both directions.
- Absences: These will be recorded in the same manner as in previous years. Regardless if your student is attending in-person or via Zoom, parents should call the school to notify us that your student will be absent.
YELLOW/ORANGE: Students will be considered present if they are physically in the classroom or participating virtually via Zoom.
GREEN: Students will be considered present if they are physically in the classroom.
RED: Students will be expected to participate via Zoom and attendance will be taken.
- Tardies: We will continue to mark students tardy when late to class, whether in-person or remote. There will not be TD slips under the 50/50 plan.
- In-Person Student Out Sick: If a student is only ill for one day, the student will not be able to Zoom-in to class. Parents must provide permission for a student to use Remote Learning for situations where a student will not be in school for an extended period of time. Extended time would be considered when a student expects to be absent from school for 10 or more school days.
In-Person Attendance 
VIDEO: [English] [Español]
Attendance to class will continue to be a critical component of student success. The following steps will take place when a student fails to attend class. Note: This all assumes the student is complying with the face covering guidelines. If the student is not, additional disciplinary action will be taken.
Violation 1: Conference, escort student to class.
Violation 2: Problem-solve with student, parent contact, In-School Suspension (ISS) for the remainder of the period.
Violation 3: Problem-solve with student, parent contact, ISS for remainder of the day.
Continued Violations: Parent meeting required. Hold Collaborative Plan (CP) if warranted and begin to lay the groundwork for Remote Learning (RL) if the truancy continues.
Stigma 
Public health emergencies such as this pandemic, are stressful times for people and communities.
The level of stigma associated with COVID-19 is based on three main factors:
1) It is a disease that’s new and for which there are still many unknowns.
2) We are often afraid of the unknown.
3) It is easy to associate that fear with “others.”
It is understandable that there is confusion, anxiety, and fear among the public.
Unfortunately, these factors are also fueling harmful stereotypes. Stigma can:
- drive people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination,
- prevent people from seeking health care immediately, and
- discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours.
These are all behaviors that we want to avoid. At Lincoln High, creating a safe space physically, as well as emotionally, is critical to our work. We will work to maintain the privacy and confidentiality around situations involving healthcare that may or may not be COVID-related. We will also work to reduce fear and anxiety through education, communication, and empathy. If you or your child experience or witness stigma related to the pandemic, we ask that you please contact a school staff person (counselor, administrator, teacher, trusted adult) so that we can take the steps necessary to keep our community free from the negative behaviors that are associated with it.
Additional Resource on Preventing Social Stigma related to COVID-19
