Back-to-school plans change as pandemic keeps evolving

Masks required, less remote learning, fewer quarantines expected

With the first day of school about two weeks away, districts across the state are releasing updated reopening plans that reveal changed guidelines around COVID-19 quarantining procedures, learning models and cleaning protocols.

Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to release further guidelines on school reopening sometime this month, but with the school year fast approaching, many districts are relying on interim state recommendations published in late July, as well as updates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of early August, the CDC recommends all students and staff wear masks in schools, regardless of vaccination status. Lamont’s existing executive order requiring masks in school remains effective through the end of September, according to interim education Commissioner Charlene Russelltucker.

Changing quarantine rules

Fully vaccinated students and staff who were in close contact to a positive COVID-19 case are not expected to quarantine if they are asymptomatic, the CDC said in July. However, in an Aug. 4 update, the national agency said that fully vaccinated people — in addition to unvaccinated people — who have had a known exposure to a suspected or confirmed COVID19 case should be tested between three and five days after contact,

regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Citing the CDC, the state said in the interim school reopening recommendations released in late July that any students seated at least 3 feet away from another student diagnosed with COVID-19 do not need to quarantine, as long as they are not showing symptoms and masks were worn properly and consistently in the classroom. The infected student would still be required to quarantine. The state guidance also said schools should encourage an emphasis on identifying individual close contacts instead of quarantining an entire classroom when positive cases do arise.

When asked whether the district was concerned about parents choosing to pull their children from school in the event of a positive case in the student’s classroom, West Hartford Superintendent of Schools Tom Moore said in an email: “We really hope that parents will work with us, and follow the CDC guidance.”

“It is important that children are in school, as we know that much was lost last year when we were not all able to be in school together. It is important that we continue to have trust and transparency, on all sides,” he wrote.

The definition of close contact between students in a K-12 classroom setting has also adjusted, according to the CDC. Farmington Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Greider explained to families in a recent letter that in a classroom, students are considered to be in close contact if they were within 3 feet of each other for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.

But outside a classroom setting, students are considered to be in close contact if they were within 6 feet of each other for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, Greider said. This same rule applies in situations of student to adult contact, as well as adult to adult contact, inside or outside a classroom. In Farmington schools, if an unvaccinated individual came in close contact with a positive case, they would be required to quarantine, she noted.

Figuring out who’s vaccinated

But because the coronavirus is a relatively new disease, local officials in some towns may face issues when attempting to figure out who exactly in the school community is vaccinated against it.

Under state law, schools require vaccination records upon enrollment for diseases like measles and polio, but there is not a similar system in place for monitoring coronavirus vaccinations, Patrice Mccarthy, deputy director and general counsel of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said earlier this summer.

“COVID [vaccines] are only available for 12 and older, and only on an Emergency Use Authorization basis, so it’s not on the state-mandated list for school attendance,” she explained.

In Hartford, the public school system is relying on staff and students to report their COVID19 vaccination status. About 70% of all staff members — including 80% of teachers — have submitted images of their vaccination cards as proof that they are fully vaccinated to the district, but only about 10% of students have done so.

“We’ve done outreach and families have told us: ‘I’ve not gotten to giving you our vaccination status or our vaccination card.’ So, we know that 10% [of confirmed student vaccinations] is higher than that,” Hartford Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-rodriguez said during a recent press conference.

In Glastonbury, the district has not asked students if they are vaccinated against COVID-19, Superintendent of Schools Alan Bookman said. But through the state health department, they can see what percentage of residents are vaccinated by age group.

“We’re not asking them: ‘Have you been vaccinated?’ However, if we have a case of COVID in the secondary level, grades 6-12, and we have to quarantine people, that would be the question,” Bookman said. If it becomes necessary, the schools may ask for proof of vaccination, but that has yet to be determined, he said.

Although the district, like others, has published return to school guidelines, Bookman noted that changing circumstances and adjustments “have been the norm” throughout the pandemic.

“It’s not anybody’s fault ... and the delta variant has changed things again,” so more guideline adjustments in the coming weeks wouldn’t be a surprise, he said.

Less reliance on remote learning

With the state education department no longer requiring a remote learning option, Connecticut schools are planning to reopen for full in-person learning. But some districts are planning to keep online learning models as a backup plan, in case of student quarantines or another surge in cases.

“We break learning into three categories,” said East Hartford Superintendent of Schools Nathan

Quesnel.

First is the traditional in-person learning model, with students and teachers in the classroom together, he said. Second is “virtual learning,” which involves an individual student in quarantine or isolation at home attending classes online, while the teacher and other students are in the school building.

Third is “remote learning” which refers to instances in which an entire class or school may need

to quarantine, he said. In such circumstances, the teacher would likely teach from the school building, while students are at home.

“That’s kind of the worst-scenario situation, but something we want to make sure we keep in place when we need it,” he added. “We’re trying to keep our kids engaged and moving along. Of course while we believe in-person learning is obviously the most effective way to learn, not learning at all is least effective.”

The state interim guideline also said continuous spot disinfection of frequently touched surfaces is no longer necessary, since the CDC said surfaces are not a significant COVID-19 transmission risk. However, schools and buses should still be cleaned daily, and restrooms should be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day.