The Uintah School District has announced new protocols for playground safety within the District. According to the announcement, Uintah School District Maintenance Department conducts regular testing of the depth of the woodchips around school playgrounds to ensure safety. The District shares that “a play area is deemed unsafe and must be closed whenever the woodchips fail to meet the depth requirement set by the Utah Division of Risk Management, which is the district’s insurance provider… Beginning this year, state Risk Management is requiring districts to close play equipment whenever snow or ice covers the equipment or the woodchips around it. Also, once a play surface is frozen and daytime temperatures consistently remain in the 30s or below, a school’s play area must be closed, per the state.” District maintenance personnel will monitor conditions to determine when it becomes safe to use again.
