GUIDELINES ON THE REQUIRED HEALTH STANDARDS IN BASIC EDUCATION OFFICES AND SCHOOLS

                             

 To: Undersecretaries

        Assistant Secretaries

        Minister, Basic, Higher and Technical Education, BARMM

        Bureau and Service Directors

        Regional Directors

        Schools Division Superintendents

        Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Heads

        All Other Concerned

1. The Department of Education (DepEd) is committed to ensure safe educational continuity amidst the challenges of COVID-19. Learning opportunities must be provided to give hope and stability, contribute to the normalization of activities in the country, and facilitate development of our learners and bring normalcy to their lives. 

2. In the provision of learning opportunities, the health and safety of our learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel are of utmost importance and must be protected at all times. 

3. To ensure the safe return to schools and DepEd offices when allowed by the Department of Health (DOH), the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), or the Office of the President, DepEd issues the enclosed Guidelines of the Required Health Standards in Basic Education Offices and Schools (Enclosure No. 1) for the guidance of all learners, teachers, and nonteaching personnel nationwide. The specific measures for COVID-19 mitigation in schools and offices are detailed in Enclosure No. 2 and Enclosure No. 3, respectively. 

4. The guidelines and the specific interventions are primarily based on the DOH Administrative Order No. 2020-00015 or the Guidelines on the Risk-Based Public Health Standards for COVID-19 Mitigation, cited by the IATF to aid all sectors in all settings to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions. 

5. The DepEd Central Office (CO), Regional Offices (ROs), Schools Division Offices (SDOs) and all public and private elementary and secondary schools/community learning centers (CLCs) are mandated to adopt the guidelines on the required health standards and implement the specific interventions for COVID-19 mitigation. Other measures may be instituted, guided by the following principles laid out in the DOH Administrative Order No. 2020-0015: 

  a. Shared accountability

                i. All efforts shall espouse the government's strategic directions of national government enabled, local government-led, and people-centered response  to the COVID-19 health event. 

        b. Evidence-based decision making

                i. All policies and decisions shall be guided by evidence. 

                ii. All actors  shall periodically assess and recalibrate policies, plans, programs, and guidelines. 

        c. Socio-economic equity and rights-based approach

                i. Vulnerable groups should be identified and provided additional social safety net protections;

                ii. Policy design shall always choose the least restrictive alternative that achieves its goal; and

               iii. In the event of any conflict of rules or guidelines, the interpretation shall ensure of the protection of human rights. As such, the safety needs and well-being of the individual shall prevail. 

6. All concerned are directed to:

    a. Cooperate with DepEd in carrying out the provisions set forth in these standards; 

    b. Report any COVID-19 related concerns to the DepEd Task Force COVID-19 for                     Central Office concerns, or to their respective COVID-19 DRRM Teams                                  for Regional, Division, or school-level concerns;

    c. Comply with the standards on health and work safety issues by the Department,                    and  participate in related programs, initiatives, and activities;

      d. Responsibly use and manage all safety, hygiene, and sanitary resources provided by the agency;

      e. Contextualize and adapt implementation processes and procedures according to the socio-cultural realities and contexts of learners and their communities; and

       f. Support government initiatives for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

7. For more information, contact DepEd Task Force COVID-19 through the Bureau of                    Learner Support Services-School Health Division (BLSS-SHD), 3rd Floor, Mabini                       Building, Department of Education Central Office, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City at telephone no. (02) 8-632-9935 or email at medical.nursing@deped.gov.ph.

8. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order are directed. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        (signed)

                               LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES

                                                Secretary

You may download this copy: 

DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2020 - DOWNLOAD