Does a football player have to show his COVID-19 lab results?

Have a question about South Florida schools and COVID-19? Sun Sentinel reporter Lois Solomon will find the answer. Submit your question at SunSentinel.com/ AskLois.

“Can a school request to see the COVID-19 lab results of a student or does this violate the HIPAA law? My son is on the high school football team. One of the players was possibly exposed to somebody with COVID19 so they suspended football for two weeks and are requesting all players not return until they have a form from their doctor saying they are healthy AND a written copy of their COVID test results. The original player who was exposed ended up having a negative COVID test, so there was never a true exposure to the team. I don’t want to subject my son to random tests if not needed and wanted to check if the school is allowed to mandate a copy of the lab result.” — Michelle Fuentes, Pembroke Pines

HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, was designed to ensure the privacy of medical records while protecting public health and is super-complicated. First, I confirmed with Broward schools that they are asking to see football players’ test results, and they are.

“While Florida remains in a state of emergency, such a request is not a violation of HIPAA as it is done in an effort to safeguard the health and safety of the entire school population,” the district said.

Then I sought opinions from two attorneys who specialize in health care law. They agreed that the district has the right to ask for the records.

“Nothing in HIPAA prohibits the student or his legal guardian from providing the test results to the school,” said Sherine Marder, an attorney with Greenspoon Marder in Fort Lauderdale. “Likewise, nothing in HIPAA prohibits the school from requesting that the student take a COVID-19 test or submit his test result to the school.”

Jacqueline Bain, an attorney with the Florida Healthcare Law Firm in Delray Beach, said the school system is likely trying to follow recommendations from the state Department of Health, which detail who should get tested when there has been virus exposure.

“A school may request the result of a COVID-19 test in order for a student to return to school,” Bain said. “HIPAA is a process for a ’covered entity’ (like a hospital or doctor’s office) to properly disclose a person’s health information. HIPAA is not a method to shield a person from disclosing his/her own health information. Schools are not generally considered covered entities under HIPAA, and therefore HIPAA does not apply to them. Likewise, it doesn’t apply to people who are asked to disclose their own information.”

So it sounds like the football players have to show their results in order to play again. Time to get tested, guys.

Will schools close after Thanksgiving?

“I’m an elementary school teacher. Please tell me schools are going to be closing up after Thanksgiving! I really hate the way I’m being asked to put my health at risk every day. I see 120 students and go into their classrooms pushing a cart around. I have students telling me that their parent is home with COVID. I go to kindergarten classes with two feet between the desks. I see kids pulling down their masks to sneeze before I can stop them. The conditions are miserable.” — Teacher, Palm Beach County

“With our COVID numbers skyrocketing, are Broward schools considering closing after Thanksgiving? I know that many students will be traveling for the holidays so I’m sure that we can be almost certain that our positivity rates will continue to increase. The schools opened because the data showed the risks were lessening. Will they use that same data to close schools? I know that our governor wants to stay open no matter what, and several weeks ago tried to reassure us by telling us that the state’s hospitals still have plenty of intensive care unit beds available to handle the increase in cases. I don’t think that is true and, quite frankly, it doesn’t reassure me even a little.” — Irene Myers, Davie

Although many colleges and universities are stopping in-person classes after the Thanksgiving break, our South Florida school districts have no plans to close. I’ve never even heard it discussed.

COVID-19 cases are surging, but kids will return to classes, either in-person or virtual, until their winter break at the end of December. The question for the past few weeks had been what would happen after New Year’s, but Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said on Wednesday that the state plans to renew the executive order allowing remote learning for the fall semester to continue into next year.

South Florida families clearly want to continue remote learning. In Palm Beach County, 60 percent are choosing to learn from home; in Broward, it’s 83 percent.

Lots of these parents were panicking before Corcoran’s announcement, fearing that their kids would be forced to return to school buildings, and began looking for alternatives, such as Florida Virtual School. The only consolation if the kids had been forced back: Schools appear to be relatively safe and have not become super-spreader sites, thanks to mask mandates and not-crowded classrooms.

Do schools want remote volunteers?

“My husband, who’s a retired physician, and I live at a continuing care community. I was a speech and hearing therapist back in New York. I would be very happy, and so would he, to help if there’s any way virtually that we could teach the children, or if there are kids who could call us with any of their questions. There are so many retired New York City school teachers here. It seems like a waste of our talents not to be able to help, especially at a time like this.” — Leona Radack, Boca Raton

I had been wondering if schools were still taking volunteers, so I was glad to get this question. The answer is: They are.

Broward schools have a “Virtual Volunteer Program.” You have to fill out an application and get security clearance, as you did pre-COVID. It’s up to each school to figure out what kinds of interactions would be useful, but it looks like communication is through Microsoft Teams on the volunteer’s personal computer. The school’s volunteer liaison has to be present during the session.

Palm Beach County schools want you to reach out to your preferred school directly. “It’s best for those interested in volunteer opportunities to contact the schools they are interested in helping directly to find out if any virtual options are available, such as virtual reading programs,” a spokeswoman said. “Not all schools have options available.”

There are also non-profits that could benefit from your expertise. I asked the Achievement Centers for Children and Families, which has pre-school and after-school programs for needy kids in Delray Beach, if they were accepting help.

“We’re open to any skillsbased volunteers,” said Jessica Gregoire, volunteer program manager. So you could do a virtual science project with their kids, or lead a virtual garden club, or teach them how to write a resume, she said.

I’m sure the many retired teachers in South Florida have these talents and many more. So get on the phone, ladies and gentlemen, and brainstorm ways to get the next generation through these difficult times.

Are schools following COVID-19 rules?

“I am a teacher, so I hope you will not go looking for my name or print it. Revenge in education is a real thing and I need my job. Before we went back to the building, we were promised a lot. One-way halls, social distancing, and even that the kids would have their own containers of wipes for the desks, for before and after use. What do we have? One-way halls that are ignored, nobody enforcing social distancing, and my own collection of wipes at my own expense and my own work between classes. I can’t even get a pedicure without a temperature check. Why aren’t student temperatures being checked on their way into a school? Who is monitoring the one-way halls and social distancing in the secondary schools between classes and are those mandates being followed? How are the rooms/desks cleaned between classes in secondary schools, if at all?” — A Broward teacher

Believe me, I know things are getting tense, especially as COVID-19 positivity rates are skyrocketing in South Florida and throughout the country. I understand the need for anonymity.

But even though you have to get a temperature check before your manicure, the consensus is those checks don’t accomplish much, and Broward schools aren’t doing them routinely. COVID-19 has an incubation period where symptoms are not manifesting or the patient could be taking aspirin or acetaminophen to suppress the fever, so schools are only checking temperatures if kids are exhibiting symptoms.

As for the hallways, here’s what the school district told me: “Schools have signage posted on walls and on floors indicating the appropriate directions for walking in hallways between classes to maintain social distancing. School security personnel, support staff and administrators work together to monitor these areas throughout the school day.”

High school students are supposed to disinfect their desk areas before they leave for their next class. Are teachers enforcing this rule? That I don’t know. As you can see, there are a lot of rules that are more like recommendations because overwhelmed teachers can only be burdened with so much.