H1N1 School-closing Decisions are best made at the Local Level

The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) supports the recent recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that any decisions to close schools due to a suspected outbreak of swine flu should be left up to local officials, and therefore decisions about school closings can vary considerably from community to community. We encourage all school districts to work directly with their municipal and/or county health departments when considering such actions.

The CDC indicates that closing schools is not recommended unless there is likely to be a high percentage of absenteeism among staff or students.

However, any benefit depends on the circumstances. School closing is an aggressive strategy for slowing the spread of any communicable disease, especially swine flu. Closing schools may help a community contain an outbreak, but less drastic measures may be just as effective. According to the CDC, guidelines for colleges and employers are set to be issued on August 23.

In a recent New York Times article from August 7 titled, Swine Flu Should Not Close Most Schools, Federal Officials Say; Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that some schools “will have to close,” and that administrators should be making plans to continue schooling at home, via telephones and the Internet.

The NJASA agrees with Secretary Duncan’s statement in spirit, however; the implementation of contingency plans may invite a host of unintended consequences.

The New Jersey Department of Education, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, is hosting a summit on August 25, at the South Brunswick High School in Monmouth Junction, to assist school administrators, health officials and emergency responders in the planning for a statewide pandemic influenza outbreak. Topics that will be addressed include:

-Federal Update
-NJ’s Pandemic Plan
-School Closures
-Continuity of Educational Services
-Promising Practices to Help School Districts

For more information on this summit, please click here.