LIMITED FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES. The Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office in Central Luzon has awarded the School Safety Assessment Tool Compliance Certificate (SSATCC) to 1,764 public and seven private schools in Central Luzon. DepEd Regional Director May Eclar said on Monday (March 14, 2022) the SSATCC is an indication that the schools are now prepared to open their doors to teachers and students in agreement with their respective local chief executives. (File photo courtesy of DepEd-3) CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - More than 1,700 schools in Central Luzon are now prepared to implement limited face-to-face (F2F) classes. This, after the Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office 3 awarded the School Safety Assessment Tool Compliance Certificate (SSATCC) to 1,764 public and seven private schools in the region as part of the implementation of the progressive expansion of in-school classes. "The SSATCC is an indication that our schools are prepared to implement limited face-to-face classes while waiting for the concurrence of their respective local chief executives and the improvement of the health conditions in their area," DepEd Regional Director May Eclar said in a statement on Monday. Under the Interim Guidelines on the Expansion of Limited Face-to-Face Classes, all DepEd regional directors are authorized to continue the implementation of limited face-to-face classes of the original pilot schools, and the commencement of the progressive expansion phase for both public and private schools provided that expansion schools have been validated as compliant with the standards of School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT). Eclar said the SSAT evaluates the readiness of schools following the four indicators -- managing school operations, teaching and learning, wellbeing and protection, and home-school coordination. The SSATCC, which affirms that a school has been found compliant with all the four indicators, shall be displayed conspicuously at all entrance points according to prescribed dimensions provided in Regional Memorandum No. 145, series of 2022, or the Implementation Guidelines on The Issuance of School Safety Assessment Tool Compliance Certificate for Progressive Expansion of Limited Face-to-Face Classes. The SSATCC is valid for six months from the date of issuance and shall be renewable subject to the continued compliance of all eligibility requirements which include the following conditions -- schools are in areas under Alert Levels 1 and 2 based on the periodic risk assessment by the Department of Health (DOH), validation report of the division/district composite team indicating compliance with the SSAT, and endorsement from the schools division superintendent to the regional director. The SSATCC may be revoked through a valid complaint of a willful violation of any of the minimum public health standards or if there is a clustering of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases reported in the school. (PNA) }