Beresford School
Board Special Meeting
Wednesday, September
30—5:30 p.m.—High School Gym
Board Discussion on
Our District’s COVID-19 Close Contact Tracing/Practices Moving Forward
At
the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, the South Dakota Department of Health
(SD DOH) and the South Dakota Department of Education (SD DOE) required a
14-day quarantine for students and staff who were identified as a verified close
contact to a known positive COVID-19 case. Close contact is defined by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the SD DOH as any
individual who is within 6 feet of a positive COVID-19 person for 15 minutes
or more. Our District has followed this definition
and requirement since the start of the 20-21 school year on August 19.
Recently,
the SD Secretary of Education Dr. Ben Jones emailed the state superintendents a
memo regarding close contacts in school settings. In his memo, paragraph
three states, “When it comes to close contact recommendations, boards have the
ability to define the conditions under which close contacts may resume
attendance.” Dr. Jones stated the 14-day quarantine for being a verified
close contact is now a recommendation from the SD DOH. Since his memo was released on September 11,
our District has continued to follow the SD DOH recommendation regarding a 14-day
quarantine if a student or staff member is determined to be a verified close
contact to a known positive COVID-19 case.
Local
school boards now have the authority to determine how to administer the SD DOH
recommendation and how to facilitate contact tracing for the school day and
activities.
I
know it has been difficult for our District and others to keep healthy and
asymptomatic students and staff home for 14 days when they have been identified
as verified close contacts. Some
districts whose students and staff are wearing facial coverings/masks are not reporting
them as close contacts. Other districts
who do not have a mask requirement are giving thought to allowing verified
close contacts to return to school if wearing a facial covering/mask in school,
on the school bus, and at school activities during the 14-day quarantine, as
long as they remain asymptomatic.
Since
August 19, and as of September 28, our District has had eight (8) positive
COVID-19 student and staff cases and based on our District’s close contact
tracing, 51 of our students and staff have been placed in quarantine by the SD
DOH for 14 days. None of the 51 students
and staff placed in quarantine have tested positive for COVID-19. At this time, there is one Positive COVID-19
Case at the high school and this individual is in isolation.
Recently,
I have received emails and visits from students/parents and teachers/coaches
asking me how they can avoid being identified as a verified close contact and
quarantined for 14 days, so they can stay in school and continue to be engaged
in their academics and involved in their school activities.
The
Beresford School Board now has some flexibility to decide what they may do locally
with close contacts and the SD DOH recommendations. I am not sure what our Board might decide,
but the close contact tracing and practices warrants a board discussion at a
special meeting on Wednesday, September 30 at 5:30 p.m. in the high school gym. I assume there will be some support and some
opposition to my recommendation. It is
impossible to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders. As superintendent, I plan to make the
following recommendation to our school board regarding close contact tracing
and practices moving forward:
Verified
Close Contacts at School
1) Students and staff who are properly wearing a facial covering/mask in school, on the school bus, or at school activities, will not be identified as close contacts.
2) Students and staff who are not wearing or are improperly wearing a facial covering/mask in school, on the school bus, or at school activities will be identified as close contacts and subject to the 14-day quarantine.
a. Parents who would like their child to return to school earlier than the full 14-day quarantine—after 7 days in quarantine, their child must remain asymptomatic to return to school and they will be required to properly wear a facial covering/mask in school, on the school bus, and at school activities until the full quarantine has expired.
b.
Staff
who would like to return to school earlier than the full 14-day
quarantine—after 7 days in quarantine, they must remain asymptomatic to return
to school and they will be required to properly wear a facial covering/mask in
school, on the school bus, and at school activities until the full quarantine
has expired.
Verified
Close Contacts in Household/Outside of School
3) Students and staff identified as close contacts to a known positive COVID-19 case in their own household will be required to quarantine for 14 days and will not be allowed in school, on the school bus, or at school activities until the full quarantine has expired.
4)
Contact
tracing for cases outside of school will continue to be handled by the SD DOH
and those students and staff will be required to quarantine for 14 days and
will not be allowed in school, on the school bus, or at school activities until
the full quarantine has expired.
At
the September 30, 2020 special school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the high
school gym, our Board will discuss agenda item #4 and may take action on agenda
item #5. Community input time is at 6:00
p.m.
Beresford School Board Special Meeting Agenda
September 30, 2020 – 5:30 p.m. – High School Gym
Community Input Time will be at 6:00 p.m. If you would like to address the Board,
please call the office so adequate time can be arranged.
Agenda:
- Call meeting to order: roll call and establish quorum.
- Adopt agenda. (m)
- Superintendent’s comments.
- Discuss a memorandum from the SD DOE on close contacts and our District’s close contact quarantine practices moving forward.
- Approve District practice on COVID-19 Close Contacts, effective October 1, 2020. (m)
- Other Business.
- Adjourn. (m)