Revised Public Health Guidelines for Schools and FAQ

August 10, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On August 4, Geneseo Community Unit School District #228 shared an update to our return to school plan for the 2021-22 school year based on Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order requiring P-12 school staff, students, and visitors to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.  Yesterday afternoon, the ISBE and IDPH sent superintendents a 27-page Revised Public Health Guidelines for Schools and FAQ to support schools in carrying out the Executive Order. Both can also be found on our website.

Requests from community members for the Geneseo School District to ignore the Executive Order and make masks optional have been heard by the Board of Education and myself, but cannot be acted upon. Time and time again over the last 18 months the Executive Orders have been challenged in court and each time, the courts have upheld their authority.

This most recent Executive Order effectively eclipses the local authority of school boards to adopt mask-optional plans for the upcoming school year. Governor Pritzker cited both the potential liability exposure for any local school board disregarding the mask mandate and the authority of ISBE to change recognition status of a school district and, by extension, impact school district funding as possible means to enforce the mask mandate.

The Governor also said he would take action to enforce the mandate as needed. For Geneseo, that would mean a loss of approximately $6.5 million dollars in state funding. Losing our recognition status also puts our student athletes’ eligibility into question under IHSA rules and overall district insurability.

While we believe in local control, we also rely on expertise and clear guidance in public health. We also rely on legal guidance and counsel from the Illinois Association of School Boards. Once an executive order is issued, it has the effect of law, and boards should work with local counsel to comply with it. Failure to do so may result in sanctions against the district and expose the district, its employees, and the board to unnecessary liability.

The Geneseo School Board’s July 23 return to school plan called for masks to be recommended but not required. At the 11th hour, local control was taken away from us and a statewide mandate was issued. We are not asking for you to change your personal opinions on the matter, but to respect the decision that has been made for us and assist us in implementing it, which will allow your children to come back to school all-day, every-day.

Items of interest from the new IDPH and ISBE joint guidance are highlighted below. Under the updated guidance and the existing mitigating measures in our back to school plan, there should be limited numbers of students who need to quarantine. The measures in place should keep kids in school, which is what we all desire. 

The items below are not exhaustive, but provide answers to numerous questions I have received. I encourage you to read these materials in their entirety. Building principals are aware of the new guidance and have made any necessary changes to their plans, which are minimal.

The quarantine guidance highlighted in the revised guidelines may seem complicated, but in the absence of an updated flow chart from IDPH, this is what we have to share. Our nurses are well versed on the requirements and will be able to walk you through any questions you may have if the situation arises. In the coming days, we will also release information on a new option for students to return to school sooner than ever before under certain circumstances, in conjunction with existing Hammond Henry Hospital testing capabilities.

There will be a Board of Education meeting this Thursday, August 12 at 5:00 at the district office. Audio of the meeting will be broadcast live online (http://wb6network.com), TV50 for Geneseo residents, and the radio (100.5 WGRG). As always, in the spirit of continuing our dialogue with the community, it will be open to the public to attend. However, no action will be taken by the board to go against the Governor’s mask mandate in lieu of the Executive Order being rescinded between now and then. If it is rescinded or not renewed in the next 30 days, we will evaluate our local metrics and determine if we transition to a mask recommended but not required option as outlined in the original plan.

Along with our Board of Education, I’m thrilled to welcome our students back to the classroom this week. We all hope that the most challenging times of the pandemic are behind us and that school days will gradually become more normal in the coming weeks and months.

Dr. Adam Brumbaugh

Superintendent 

Geneseo Community Unit School District #228

Points of Interest from the Revised Public Health Guidelines for Schools and FAQ

The following guidance is based on updated CDC guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools and the State of Illinois updated Executive Order. Executive Order 2021-18 requires that masks be worn indoors by all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to P-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. The State of Illinois also requires all public and nonpublic schools to comply with contact tracing, in combination with isolation and quarantine, as directed by state and local public health departments.

1. Exceptions to wearing a mask
   1. When eating
   2. For persons with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, because of the disability
   3. For staff and students when they are outdoors. 
      1. Staff and students who remove their face mask in these limited situations should be monitored and should maintain physical distancing to the greatest extent possible given the space in their facilities, with at least 3 feet recommended, but not required, between students and at least 6 feet recommended, but not required, between adults or between students and adults.
2. It is recommended that districts and schools update policies to require wearing a face mask while on school grounds according to the provisions noted above and handle violations in the same manner as other policy violations. Geneseo Board Policy 7:190 addresses student conduct.
3. Face shields do not provide adequate source control because respiratory droplets may be expelled from the sides and bottom. They may only be used as a substitute for face masks in the following limited circumstances:
   1. Teachers needing to show facial expressions where it is important for students to see how a teacher pronounces words (e.g., English Learners, early childhood, world language, etc.). However, teachers will be required to resume wearing face masks as soon as possible. Preferred alternatives to teachers wearing face shields include clear face masks or video instruction. There must be strict adherence to physical distancing when a face shield is utilized in lieu of a face mask.
4. Physical distancing provides protection, minimizes risk of exposure, and limits the number of close contacts. CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms to reduce transmission risk. No school should exclude students from in-person learning to keep a minimum distance requirement.
5. There is no recommended capacity limit for school transportation. Schools should facilitate physical distancing on school transportation vehicles to the extent possible given the space on such vehicles. 
6. Mealtimes represent one of the highest-risk settings within the school. Masks are removed and the act of eating and talking, usually with increased projection, can increase transmission risk. Physical distancing of 3 feet is recommended for students while eating or drinking. Given the risk of transmission among unvaccinated persons while unmasked, a distance of at least 6 feet is recommended for all unvaccinated individuals while eating and drinking, but is not required.
7. Districts and schools may wish to consider “staggering” schedules for arrivals/dismissals, hall passing periods, mealtimes, bathroom breaks, etc. to ensure the safety of unvaccinated students and staff. Staff and students should abstain from physical contact, including, but not limited to, handshakes, high fives, and hugs. 
   1. Cohorts (or “pods”) are activities or classes that are grouped together to the extent possible during the school day in order to minimize exposure to other individuals in the school environment. When implementing cohorts, schools should keep them as static as possible by having the same group of students stay with the same teachers or staff (all day for young children, and as much as possible for older children). If additional space is needed to support cohorting, consider all available safe spaces in school and community facilities. Limit mixing between cohorts. Students and staff in the same cohort who are not fully vaccinated should continue to wear masks at all times, except as otherwise noted in this guidance.
8. School athletics must comply with the latest Sports Safety Guidance
9. Students and staff who are fully vaccinated with no COVID-19-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be restricted from school or extracurricular activities. CDC recommends that fully vaccinated individuals test three to five days after a close contact exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
10. For all individuals where exposure occurred outside of the classroom setting and for adults in the indoor P-12 classroom setting, CDC defines a close contact as an individual not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. For students in the classroom setting, contacts who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student do not require quarantine as long as both the case and the contact were consistently masked. If they were not consistently masked, then close contacts are classroom students who were within 6 feet of the infected student for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. 
    1. In general, individuals who are solely exposed to a confirmed case while outdoors should not be considered close contacts.
11. What options are available for unvaccinated students to return to school from quarantine after an exposure? 
    1. The local health department will make the final determination on who is to be quarantined and for how long. They also may determine that a close contact is not a candidate for modified quarantine due to a high-risk exposure (e.g., sustained close contact without masking). 
       1. Option 1: Quarantine at home for 14 calendar days. Date of last exposure is considered day 0. 
       2. Option 2: Quarantine for 10 calendar days after the close contact’s last exposure to the COVID-19 case. Date of last exposure is considered day 0.The individual may end quarantine after day 10 if no symptoms of COVID-19 developed during daily monitoring. 
          1. SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing is recommended and may be required by the local health department. 
          2. The individual can maintain physical distancing and masking at all times when returning to school; for classrooms where masking is strictly adhered to as required, physical distance of 3 to 6 feet is acceptable for return.
       3. Option 3: Quarantine period is for seven calendar days after the last exposure if: 
          1. No symptoms developed during daily monitoring AND the individual has a negative SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test (PCR) that was collected within 48 hours of exposure day 7 (starting on day 6 or after). ▪ The individual is responsible for obtaining a copy of the negative results for documentation purposes. 
          2. The individual can maintain physical distancing and masking at all times when returning to school; for classrooms where masking is strictly adhered to as required, physical distance of 3 to 6 feet is acceptable for return. 
       4. Option 4: Test to Stay Strategy, as has been documented by CDC,4 if schools test close contacts, as defined above, on days one, three, five, and seven from date of exposure by a PCR or rapid antigen or molecular emergency use authorization (EUA)-approved test, close contacts are permitted to remain in the classroom as long as the results are negative. (See IDPH’s Interim Guidance on Testing for COVID-19 in Community Settings and Schools for specific details on testing in schools.) 
          1. Test to Stay is only applicable when both the COVID-19-confimed case and close contact were engaged in consistent and correct use of well-fitting masks, regardless of vaccination status (universal masking), as required by Executive Order 2021-18. 
          2. Test to Stay may be used for any indoor exposure, with the exception of household exposures, for both students and staff who are not fully vaccinated. 
          3. Students or staff who are not fully vaccinated and engaged in Test to Stay after an exposure may participate in extracurricular activities. Local health departments have the authority to order a classroom-only Test-to-Stay protocol after assessing the risk of an individual situation. 
          4. However, if the close contact is identified five days or more from the date of exposure, adjust testing accordingly, ideally on days five and seven after the last exposure. 
          5. When testing in the outlined cadence is not possible due to weekends and holidays, students and staff who are not fully vaccinated should be tested at the earliest possible opportunity. 
          6. At the conclusion of the Test to Stay modified quarantine period, the school should notify the local health department that the individual has successfully completed testing and remained negative.Local health departments have the authority to assess high-risk exposures and order a traditional quarantine without the option for Test to Stay. 
          7. If at any time the student tests positive or becomes symptomatic, they should be immediately isolated and sent home, and the local health department notified. Regardless of when an individual ends quarantine, daily symptom monitoring should continue through calendar day 14 after the exposure. Individuals should continue to adhere to recommended mitigation strategies, including proper and consistent mask use, physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough hygiene, environmental cleaning and disinfection, avoiding crowds and sick people, and ensuring adequate indoor ventilation. If any symptoms develop during or after ending quarantine, the individual should immediately self-isolate and contact their local health department or healthcare provider to report their symptoms. The health department can provide guidance on how to safely quarantine and isolate within the household.