A special day class for handicapped students at Benjamin Foxen School in Sisquoc has been closed because of H1N1 flu concerns.

The Santa Barbara County Office of Education, which runs the special-education program, closed the class for five days because the county doesn't want to risk infection of medically fragile students.

Foxen School, in the Blochman Union School District, has eight students in its special day class. The program was closed Wednesday and will remain closed until Monday.

"We want to make sure we are not putting them at any physical risk," said Wendy Shelton, director of communications for the office of education. "It's not just the students. We don't want the staff members coming in with germs that could be hazardous to the students."

The county's decision to close the class for five days is based on Santa Barbara County Public Health Department's recommendation. Shelton said the office of education and county public health have been in close contact with both school administrators and the parents of the children in the affected class.

Neither the office of education or public health would identify the source of the infection, whether it was a student or teacher, only that it was believed to be the H1N1 virus.

Health officials in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County indicated anyone currently sickened with flu symptoms most likely has H1N1.

Shelton said healthy teachers would continue their lessons by visiting the homes of healthy students until classes at school can resume.

Dr. Peter Hasler, medical director and interim county health officer, is scheduled to meet with school superintendents next week to discuss a county-wide protocol for swine flu outbreaks, according to Susan Klein-Rothschild, public information officer with the health department.

Hasler is also scheduled to address the H1N1 flu outbreak and how it relates to schools at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Santa Ynez Union High School theater.

The office of education has been monitoring absenteeism in its public schools. Klein-Rothschild said schools are directed to contact public health any time the absentee rate rises above 10 percent.

The class closure at Foxen School is the only one in the county, so far.

Nationwide, approximately 350 schools in

19 states, affecting 126,000 students, were closed last week because of the H1N1 flu. So far this year, about 600 schools have temporarily closed because of the virus, according to the U.S. Education Department.

San Luis Obispo County is working on a similar protocol for its schools. Michelle Shoresman, emergency preparedness manager for San Luis Obispo County, said county officials are also considering school-based vaccination clinics when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available.

Shoresman said San Luis Obispo County schools are experiencing above-normal absenteeism, and it is accepted that the H1N1 virus is the cause.

Ill students in the Foxen School class will only be cleared to return to school when they are fully recovered. Teachers must be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to work.

"We want students back to baseline, " Shelton explained. "It's not just symptom free. They want them back to where they where the were before they got sick. That's the recommendation for all students county wide.

"The situation is these are small classrooms and it's a small, tight-knit community so its easily controlled," she added.