Lancaster County schools to allow quarantined students back faster despite record COVID
The Lancaster County School District board has voted to shorten some quarantine periods.
The school year began with a 14-day quarantine period for COVID contacts. If a parent tested positive, the combined 10-day isolation for the parent and following 14-day quarantine for the student could keep a child out 24 days.
Now a student can return after 10 rather than 14 days if there haven’t been symptoms, and if the student wears a mask, continues to monitor symptoms and social distances for what would’ve been the remaining four days. The district voted to work toward a seven-day return option if a student tests negative for the virus after the fifth day. That student also would need the mask, monitoring and social distancing through what would be 14 days.
Superintendent Jonathan Phipps said the 14-day option remains. The only required use of a mask, he said, would be as an option to shorten a quarantine period.
“We’re not mandating masks at school, but it’s a parent’s choice,” Phipps said.
The more than three-hour meeting Friday morning was disrupted several times by parents on both sides of the mask mandate debate. Public comment ranged from parents or grandparents who wanted a full mask requirement to others who wanted the choice to be optional. Many parents expressed concern with how many students have been out, or for how long, due to quarantine rules.
New virtual academy
Last school year the district applied with the state to begin a virtual academy for grades 4-12. Only about 130 of the roughly 15,000 district students signed up. The school board opted not to start the academy as its community largely opted for in-person school.
Now COVID counts are much higher than they were at the end of last year, or during much of the summer.
“We have had a tremendous amount, an outpouring of parents that have asked why in the world aren’t you doing virtual,” Phipps said.
The district voted to move forward with a virtual option, and expand it to younger grades too. The thought last year was students through third grade would have the hardest time learning virtually. While the district still has those concerns, Phipps said, there’s also the factor that no COVID vaccine exists for younger students.
Record COVID positive cases
Part of the reason so many parents and students have experienced quarantine procedures the board wrestled with Friday is there are many more close contact opportunities.
“Look at the number of positive cases this week,” Phipps said.
Last school year the highest weekly total of COVID positives among students and staff was 104 cases. Through Thursday night there were 222 this week. There are 186 student and 36 staff cases. The district has 2,880 students or teachers in quarantine.
“Last year with that, we would’ve shut schools down,” Phipps said. “We probably would’ve shut the district down.”
The district learned students suffer in their education during remote learning. Which is why the board isn’t shutting the district down.
There are 131 cases just among elementary school students. There are 38 middle school and 17 high school student cases. Of 36 positive staff cases, 20 are in elementary schools. There are seven each in middle and high schools, plus two at the district office.
District staff repeatedly told the board Friday schools are overburdened with monitoring and contact tracing requirements. Some students who started the year on quarantine are just now set to return. More close contacts are turning into positive cases compared to last year, according to staff, and there have been students to test positive at or near the end of their quarantine periods.
Those late positives concern staff with the direction toward shorter quarantines away from school. Another concern is having enough nurse and school staff in place to transition to the new rules.
“There’s no way possible we can do that...Monday,” Phipps said of the seven day option. “There’s no way we have the personnel to do that.”
Here’s the full conversation:
