Duval County Public Schools have plans in place to ensure students will be able to continue learning, even if they’re quarantined for an extended period of time due to exposure to the coronavirus.
As the school year begins amid a dramatic surge in local COVID cases and hospitalizations, the district has resumed the use of its COVID-19 dashboard to help families monitor how COVID-19 is affecting their children’s school.
If teachers or students need to be quarantined, they will be able to transition to remote online learning via Microsoft Teams. Parents of students who are absent or quarantined for a long period of time can also request to receive assignments through their school counseling office if the teacher is not using the Teams site.
The district will continue to conduct daily morning temperature checks at elementary and K-8 schools. School clinics will also be able to check temperatures if students feel ill. Free telehealth options will be available to students as well, with written parental permission. Additionally, the district has ensured that each school will have a full-time school nurse and/or a school health aide. Each school will also be equipped with an isolation room or clinic for students who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.
Social distancing is still being encouraged in schools and hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes will be made available at schools and on buses. Schools and buses will also be regularly cleaned and sanitized.
Students must wear masks this year unless their parents or guardians opt out. As of the first day of school in Jacksonville, Tuesday, less than 4% of the district’s more than 126,000 students had opted out, according to WJCT News partner News4Jax. Employees and visitors are required to wear face masks at all times in schools and at other district facilities.
Related: Pediatric Care Under Stress In Jacksonville Amid COVID-19 Hospitalization Spike
If a positive COVID-19 case is reported in a Duval County school, in addition to notifying members of the school community, the district will immediately report the case to the School Health Services office, which will notify DOH. DOH will then perform contact tracing with help from the school and notify anyone who may need to quarantine as a result of the investigation.
If a student is exposed to a known COVID-19 case and is not symptomatic, the student can return to school after:
- Testing negative at least four days later or
- At least seven days have passed since they were exposed.
If a student is exposed and becomes symptomatic they can not return to school until:
- They test negative and become asymptomatic;
- 10 days have passed since symptoms began or they tested positive, the student doesn’t have a fever for 24 hours and the student’s other symptoms are improving or
- The student gets written permission from a healthcare provider to return to school.
If a student is exposed and tests positive for COVID-19, they should not return to school until:
- They test negative and become asymptomatic;
- 10 days have passed since they tested positive or became symptomatic, the student is fever free for 24 hours and the student’s other symptoms are improving or
- The student gets written permission from a healthcare provider to go back to school.
If a student is exposed and has been infected with COVID-19 within the past 90 days or is fully vaccinated they can continue going to school if they are asymptomatic.
If that student becomes symptomatic, they cannot return to school until:
- They test negative and are asymptomatic;
- 10 days have passed since they tested positive or symptoms started, the student is fever free for 24 hours and the student’s other symptoms are improving or
- The student gets written permission from a healthcare provider to return to school.
Here’s more information on Duval County Schools’ in-person learning policies for the 2021 school year.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.
