The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) County-Level School Benchmarks are used to determine the level of community spread of COVID-19 in Arizona and assist with decision making for the types of delivery model schools may consider. The benchmarks are:
Cases (two-weeks of a case rate of less than 100 cases per 100,000 population within the county).
Percent Positivity (for initial opening, two weeks of percent positivity less than 10% within the county.
COVID-Like Illness (CLI) (two weeks with hospital visits due to CLI below 10% within the region).
Schools should be prepared to move between delivery models throughout the 2020/21 school year as community spread changes. Examples:
- A county has one (1) benchmark in the red category for two or more weeks, even if different benchmarks, schools should consult with their local health department to determine whether to prepare to transition back to virtual learning with onsite support services.
- If a county has all three (3) benchmarks in the red category, they should prepare to transition to virtual learning, and consult with their local health department.
- Once a school has all three (3) benchmarks in the minimal category for two weeks, they could consider moving to traditional learning in consultation with their local health department.
For more information from ADHS, click HERE.