LOS ANGELES/ELK GROVE — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today introduced a model checklist to assist local educational agencies, preschools and child care centers in developing plans to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

"While we hope a pandemic never occurs, schools must be prepared to help protect the health and safety of staff and students," O'Connell said. "These planning checklists will help to protect our children by minimizing the impact to their education should a pandemic force school closures for any length of time. It is vitally important that our educations systems and health services agencies work together to protect lives in the future should a pandemic occur."

The pandemic flu planning checklists for schools, child care agencies and preschools are the result of a partnership between the California Department of Education and the California Department of Health Services. The model planning checklists outline steps schools should take for mitigation and prevention of illness, preparedness in the event of a flu outbreak, response in the event of an emergency, and recovery to get schools back on track.

"Schools are an important focus for public health, not only because they contain our most cherished resource, but because they are at the center of any epidemic," said Dr. Howard Backer, Director of the Immunization Branch of the California Department of Health Services. "Past experience and studies show that children in school spread infection because of hygiene, close contact, and their susceptibility to infection. Current national policy calls for closing schools in a severe pandemic. But in less severe pandemic and during our annual influenza season, we can protect our children and communities with less drastic measures. By following three simple rules we can greatly reduce the spread of illness in our communities:  wash your hands regularly, cover your cough, and, stay home when you are sick."

Pandemic flu starts when a new flu virus develops and begins to spread around the world. Currently there is no pandemic flu, but experts believe that the current virus that is now seen in birds, commonly referred to as avian flu, could change into a virus that can be transferred from person to person, which could lead to a pandemic. Experts believe that up to 30 percent of the population may be sick at the same time. To control the spread of illness, social distancing, such as closing schools and having people stay at home will be the primary approach to preventing the spread of the flu virus. An outbreak of flu in a region could mean that schools would have to close for a few weeks to a month. 

Some of California's nearly 1,000 school districts and county offices of education have already done a great deal of work to develop plans to prevent and mitigate the outbreak of pandemic flu, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Contra Costa. These checklists will provide a valuable starting point for districts that don't have the resources or the expertise to develop such plans.

O'Connell encouraged schools district staff to work with their local health departments to adopt a plan of action as soon as possible.

"In any disaster, lives and safety depend on finely tuned and regularly practiced emergency response plans and clear communications," O'Connell said. "I want every person on the staff of every California school to know what role he or she should play in the event of a pandemic."

The checklists for schools, child care agencies, and preschools can be viewed at: Flu Prevention - Health Services & School Nursing.