Release
OKLAHOMA CITY— The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced last week an optional short-term policy change for schools with students who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Beginning Nov. 30 2020 and until Dec. 23, 2020, Oklahoma school districts will be permitted to implement an in-school quarantine policy for students who have been exposed to COVID-19 in the classroom. This means that any student who may have been exposed to COVID-19 will have the opportunity to participate in distance learning in a school supervised environment.
“We’re issuing this change in policy to provide our school districts with some flexibility following the recent surge in COVID-19 cases,” said Dr. Lance Frye, Oklahoma Commissioner of Health. “We have recognized that some students subject to a 14-day quarantine may have lost many essential benefits schools provide, such as a safe environment with adult supervision, nutritional support, internet and technology resources and easier access to instructor assistance. Adopting this policy change will help protect students and teachers from COVID-19, while also providing a safe environment and resources needed for students to engage in distance learning during their quarantine period.”
The Mustang Public Schools voted last night to institute this new policy and is the first school district in the state to do so.
“We were recently faced with the difficult decision to transition our entire district to distance learning due to the high numbers of quarantines and isolations we were seeing in our staff and students,” Mustang Superintendent Charles Bradley said. “Our goal, as a school district, is to have in-person instruction for five days each week for all of our students, but we will only do that if it is safe. This in-school quarantine pilot program will help move us in that direction. Our school board and administration believe in the efficacy of masks, and welcome this opportunity to gain a better understanding of their effect on positivity rates. Additionally, the testing provided by this In-School Quarantine (ISQ) Program will provide us data on asymptomatic students that we have previously not had access to. We are deeply grateful to our Board for allowing us to participate and thankful to Dr. Frye and the State Department of Health, as well as the Canadian County Health Department, for their continued partnership in this new opportunity.”
Implementing an in-school quarantine is optional for schools that are willing and able to follow specific guidelines, which includes having a designated space for quarantined students that can accommodate social distancing, the ability to administer rapid testing and constant adult supervision.
“In the past, if a student had tested positive for COVID-19, any students who interacted with the case — up to the entire class — would have been required to move to distance learning for 14 days,” said Dr. Jared Taylor, Interim State Epidemiologist. “An abrupt change like that is quite disruptive to learning, especially for middle schoolers and high schoolers who attend multiple classes in a day. An in-school quarantine option is the best way to keep our kids in school and prevent them from falling behind. OSDH carefully constructed a list of guidelines that schools must be in compliance with in order to maintain the wellbeing of students and keep everyone safe.”
Any school choosing to adopt an in-school quarantine policy must be in compliance with the following guidelines:
