Air Quality

• All exterior doors and windows are closed
• All activities, including lunch, will be moved indoors as much as possible
• All outdoor athletic conditioning practices are suspended immediately
• Outdoor staff are given indoor work or frequent breaks

• SCUSD refers to the state and local air quality guidelines for schools to inform our decisions for caring for students who have asthma and/or other respiratory health concerns.
• As always, our staff will prioritize student health needs and follow student health plans. If your child has asthma and/or other related health concerns, please make sure their health plan is updated to include responses during days with poor air quality and that the necessary medications and the requisite directions are provided to the school.

Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about air quality concerns. Being in conversation with your child and referring to facts helps reduce confusion. Other steps parents can take include:

• If your child has asthma or related health concern, please refer to the above “sensitive groups” section.
• Remind children to drink plenty of water.
• Remind students to report symptoms including coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and chest tightness. If symptoms occur, your child might need to take a break, do a less intense activity, stop all activity, go indoors, or use quick-relief medicine as prescribed. If symptoms don't improve, consult your physician.
• Rather than walking or biking to school, children should be transported via public or private transportation.
• If you wish to keep your child home, you have the ability to do so. It is important that parent/guardian concerns for students with sensitivities are addressed via advice from a licensed medical provider. Absences due to a medical reason will follow guidelines for an excused absence. You must contact your child's office to report any absence and students will be responsible for making up the work they miss.

Our school district will rely on the direction of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) to determine the need for school closure. Should these organizations recommend closure, SCUSD will close schools. While no universal Air Quality Index (AQI) measure exists above which schools should close, SCCPHD is clear that students are safer supervised at school than at home, potentially unsupervised. SCUSD will not rely on the closure of other area school districts, even those closest to ours, to determine the need to close schools.