DC nurses union claims city ignored recommendations amid reopening process

DC schools chancellor discusses reopening

DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee talks about the district's plans for returning students to schools.

WASHINGTON - D.C. schools are set to reopen for partial in-person instruction in November, but the city’s nurses union is criticizing the process.

The District of Columbia Nurses Association claims the schools administration is ignoring multiple important guidelines.

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According to a statement released by the District’s nurses union, as of last week, nurses had not received adequate protective gear, the health suites were not properly ventilated, there were no protocols for isolation rooms, and health suites had not been cleaned.

On Monday, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee announced a three-option plan, and outlined some of the COVID-19 health safety precautions the district was taking for when thousands of elementary school students potentially return for DCPS’s Term 2. D.C. leaders also provided a tour of what some of the classrooms will look like come November.

Some of the precautions announced include providing PPE and ample hand sanitizer. The Department of Public Works Director Chris Geldart said they are also repairing and upgrading HVAC units at 117-buildings, starting with the elementary schools. Several reporters were told units have been purchased in rooms whose buildings do not have a full HVAC system.

DCPS also plans for the children to stay in small, 5-11 student cohorts. If a teacher or student in the cohort tests positive, DCPS says the whole cohort will be told to quarantine for 14 days.

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The elementary students prioritized for return first include those most at risk, homeless, English-language learners or students with special needs.

According to the nurses association, DCNA presented D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt with an array of recommendations over the summer.

The District’s top health official, however, “responded dismissively and did not engage with DCNA in any way,” the union says.

“Nurses will be put at risk covering more than one school during the pandemic crisis due to the shortage of school nurses. This will place the health of the students, teachers, families, and the larger community at risk. Nurses like all others want the schools open but the safety concerns have not been prioritized to date. We can do this but we all need to be at the table working together,” said Thedith Moore, President of the LPN unit of School Nurses at DCNA.

DCPS is set to hold a virtual meeting Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss plans for the partial in-person return.

Parents can register here.