COVID-19 Health and Safety

How soon can students return to school after testing positive? 

Following Washington Department of Health and Public Health – Seattle & King County’s guidance for people who test positive for COVID-19, students and staff can return to school after isolating for five full days if they have no symptoms or if their symptoms have subsided and have had no fever for the last 24 hours without medication.

Students and staff should wear well-fitting masks and continue to follow safety protocols (i.e., social distancing, hand washing). Students leaving isolation don’t need a negative test to return to school. Read more about SPS quarantine requirements.

Is SPS considering implementing screening testing for students? 

Weekly testing of any kind requires a steady supply of tests and a reliable group of staff and/or trained volunteers to help register participants, administer the tests, process at a lab, and report results to DOH. One method of implementing screening testing is pooled or batch testing. This requires two series of tests – one round for a batch or cohort of students and another round of individual tests if the batch or cohort tests positive.

Seattle Public Schools has identified a vendor who can provide the courier, resulting, and reporting workforce. SPS also has a MOA with Seattle Education Association to pilot this type of testing.

The challenge is that with the new isolation and quarantine guidance, the pooled testing process may take too long to be an effective testing strategy. By the time students get results their isolation or quarantine period may be close to over.  As we learn more about COVID and the new variants, we are refining our testing and mitigation strategies. It is our goal to invest in testing strategies that align with updated health guidance and policy and remain hopeful that home test kits can be part of the solution.  

Will SPS implement a test-to-stay program? 

Yes, Seattle Public Schools will begin implementing Test-to-Stay in five schools over the next two to three weeks. Invitations to schools have already been distributed. Test-to-stay is a strategy to keep unvaccinated students who are not showing symptoms in school after they have been identified as a close contact. With twice weekly testing, we can minimize time out of school while keeping everyone safe. 

 SPS has identified an outside vendor to help implement the strategy by mid-February. Schools with high rates of unvaccinated students have been invited to participate in the pilot.  

Has SPS considered a pooled testing protocol? 

Pooled testing screens a group of people together, like a classroom, on a regular basis to proactively identify positive cases. If there is a positive result, then that group is tested on an individual basis. Pooled testing has been used effectively to screen for the Delta variant. It is less effective with the Omicron variant, given how quickly transmission occurs. 

What is SPS’ masking requirement? 

All staff, students, and visitors are required to wear a mask when on SPS property or events. However, due to the highly transmissible omicron variant, the CDC is recommending enhanced masking to limit spread. Using these enhanced masks is voluntary and SPS will be supplying them temporarily during the Omicron variant surge.   

SPS Mask Supply

SPS currently supplies three-layer medical/surgical masks for all staff and students who need them (more than 1,000,000 this year so far). We also supply enhanced masks like KN95 and N95 masks to some staff who are working in high transmission risk settings in alignment with Labor & Industries requirements.    

SPS also began dispersing its current supply of KN95 masks to each school and John Stanford Center Educational Excellence (district central office) so that all staff who want a KN95 mask have access to one. We have identified state and local resources for additional enhanced masks and are working to bring more to SPS as quickly as possible.  

We have also requested enhanced masks for students from local and state officials. While we have requested half a million masks, we will prioritize enhanced student masks for schools with lower student vaccination rates. As soon as we receive confirmation of availability, we will communicate directly with school leaders and staff.   

What metrics are most important for deciding if instruction should transition to remote learning?  

SPS’ continuity of operations plan identifies several interrelated factors that inform the decision to move a classroom or a school building to remote instruction. Those include student absenteeism due to COVID, staff absences, substitute teacher availability, school leader coverage, and operations support in transportation, custodial, and culinary services. 

How are decisions about in-person or remote learning or school closures made? 

The superintendent’s senior staff meet throughout the day to review the data, engage with school leaders, and develop recommendations to the Superintendent or his designee for supporting schools or moving them to remote instruction.  

How do I help my student access remote instruction? 

Your school will provide a letter to families with information about schedules, lunch pick-up, and any related activity. The letter will also give you clear information about how to connect to the learning platform your students’ classroom is using. 

Does SPS offer virtual learning option 

SPS offers a Virtual Option Pilot Program (VOPP) with limited enrollment capacity. The 6-12 grade VOPP application for the 2021-22 school year is open, however, the program is at full capacity. All new applicants will be placed on a waitlist.  

Can Virtual Option Pilot Program (VOPP) students return to their school in 2022-23? 

VOPP students are expected to commit to a one year stay in this program (ending June 2022).

Students attending choice schools: However, students enrolled in a choice school may be guaranteed to return to that school only if they have attended through the end of March 2022 (3rd quarter). Short of this commitment, it is subject to availability to return to their choice school upon requesting to transfer back. Students are guaranteed a spot at their neighborhood school to return if their choice school is not available. 

Students attending attendance-area schools (neighborhood schools): Students are guaranteed a spot at their neighborhood school. 

How do you accommodate high-risk families who wish to keep their child at home temporarily until school cases come under control?  

SPS recognizes these are complicated times for families. Families are encouraged to communicate directly with their students’ school regarding student absences.