Board Votes to Accept Settlement of Lawsuit
Schools set to Reopen Four Days per Week on April 12th
Board Approves settlement of parent lawsuit, Expands to Four-days per week in-classroom learning starting April 12th and full-time in-classroom learning for 2021-2022 school year
Replacement to fill Area 5 Trustee Seat Vacated by Kristin Gibson to be filled by Board Vote on April 22nd
Settlement of Lawsuit and Board Resolution
At last night's SDUHSD Board Meeting, the Board voted to accept a settlement with plaintiffs in the parent lawsuit. The settlement will be released to the public after it is filed with the court next week.
The most important part of the settlement requires the District to adopt a Board Resolution regarding school reopening. The Board did so, and the resolution can be found on the District's website.
https://www.sduhsd.net/.../03-29-21%20Sp%20Mtg%20Item%204...
The most important parts of the resolution are:
Every student will have the opportunity to attend school in-person for up to four days per week for the remainder of the school year. The District will continue to offer a Distance Learning option for the remainder of this school year for those students who do not wish to attend school in-person.
The number of daily in-person instructional minutes will not be decreased for the rest of the school year, but may be increased.
For the 2021-2022 school year, the District will offer in-person instruction for a full five days per week.
Importantly, the base instructional model for the 2021-2022 school year will be in-person instruction. This means there will not be "dilution" of the in-classroom student experience by simulcasting to distance learners.
This is a long and hard-fought victory for students. After school closures for over an entire year, they will now be open nearly full-time for the remainder of the year, and we should be back to a normal school year next year.
In spite of the obvious benefits to finally allowing students a choice to return to school, the motion did not pass unanimously. The vote was 3-1, with Trustee Katrina Young voting against the settlement of the lawsuit and against the accompanying resolution.
Trustee Young described her vote against the resolution as a "protest vote," saying that although she was in favor of having students return to school and in favor of the resolution, she was concerned that if she voted "yes" the members of this Facebook group, with my support and encouragement, would continue to press for five days per week and the elimination of "Wellness Wednesdays," etc. As such she was going to "draw a line in the sand" and vote no on something she actually favors, to let people know that she doesn't want to go further than this.
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Quarantining of "Close Contacts"
At my request the Board President added an agenda item to discuss the Districts' quarantining policies and procedures when a student, or anyone else on campus, tests positive for COVID-19.
I asked for this agenda item to clear up any confusion in the community about the quarantining of students in particular, and to determine what flexibility the District has, if any, to minimize the impact of a COVID-19 positive test on non-infected students. I discussed how the County Health Department is not current in its quarantining policies, which I hope will encourage them (or the courts if necessary) to bring some rationality to this entire situation.
So let me try to succinctly explain the quarantining rules and our District's interpretations, as per our Administration.
We must live within the San Diego County Order of the Health Officer, Dated February 12, 2021. This can be found in the attached link.
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/.../HealthOfficerOrder...
Here are the important points in the County Order.
1. "... any ... person who has been in close contact with a person either diagnosed with COVID-19, or likely to have COVID-19 (COVID-19 Patient), must quarantine themselves."
The Admin believes that a single positive COVID-19 test of an asymptomatic person means that that person has either been "diagnosed with COVID-19," or "is likely to have COVID-19," or both. They believe that this conclusion can be drawn without the patient seeing a medical doctor or interviewing the patient, and that it doesn't matter what the underlying infection rate is in the broader community or if the patient is exhibiting any symptoms.
The Admin believes that "must quarantine themselves" can and must be enforced by the school.
2. "A 'close contact' is a contact with a COVID-19 Patient that occurs, ... for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection, and until the COVID-19 Patient is no longer required to be isolated, and where they ... were within 6 feet of a COVID19 Patient for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
The Admin believes that it can define a specific individual as a "close contact" without providing the individual with a hearing to discuss the evidence surrounding the possibility of a close contact.
The Admin believes that it cannot divulge the name of the COVID-19 Patient due to health privacy laws, and therefore there is no benefit in trying to provide a suspected "Close Contact" with a chance to refute the classification.
The Admin believe it should not, and cannot, provide any appeal process if anyone they deem to be a Close Contact disputes that designation.
3. "The Health Officer .. ORDERS ... All persons without COVID-19 symptoms who have had close contact with a COVID-19 patient must immediately take the following actions: Quarantine themselves in their home ... for at least 10 days and up to 14 days after the last contact with a COVID-19 patient. All asymptomatic close contacts may discontinue quarantine after Day 10 from the date of last exposure with or without testing as long as they can self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms through Day 14 ... . Individuals released from quarantine prior to Day 14 shall also adhere strictly to all recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions, including ... maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others, through Day 14.
The Admin believes that "must quarantine themselves" can and must be enforced by the school.
The Admin believes that it cannot effectively guarantee that a Close Contact will not come within 6 feet of another individual at school. Therefore they will keep a close contact out of school for all 14 days.
The Admin believes there are no accommodations that can be offered to facilitate a Close Contact student returning to school before 14 days.
4. "People who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 3 months and recovered do not have to quarantine or get tested again as long as they do not develop new symptoms. People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 are not required to quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated against the disease within the last three months and show no symptoms."
The Admin interprets this exactly as it is written
5. "Violation of, or failure to comply with, this Order is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment, fine, or both ..."
The Admin believes that if it were to not follow its interpretation of this order it could open the school district to an order to shut schools down completely for all students.
So there you have it in a nutshell. Let me summarize.
A COVID-19 test can come back positive for an asymptomatic student who may not be contagious, and without a second confirmatory test the school Admin will conclude that that person is a COVID-19 Patient.
The Admin will then conduct an investigation to determine which if any individuals were within 6 feet of the COVID-19 Patient for more than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period on the relevant days. They can conduct this investigation with or without interviewing the potential close contacts.
If the Admin determines that your child is a Close Contact, they will notify you by phone and will also send you a letter stating that your child has been determined to be a Close Contact. They will not tell you who your child may have been a close contact to, and you have no appeal rights to this determination.
Once your child has been determined to be a Close Contact, they will not be allowed in school for 14 days.
It doesn't matter if your child has any symptoms or not.
It doesn't matter if your child was masked when they were supposedly within 6 feet of the COVID-19 Patient, if the COIVD-19 Patient was masked, or if both your child and the COVID-19 Patient were masked.
It doesn't matter if your child has tested negative or not. It doesn't matter if they tested negative for 13 days in a row. No amount of negative testing can allow your student to come back to school before Day 14.
The only exceptions that will allow your child to return to school before Day 14 is if they had previously tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered (even if asymptomatic) within the last three months, or if they have been fully vaccinated within the last three months. A vaccine that is more than three months old will not suffice.
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Filling the Vacancy for Trustee Area 5
Kristen Gibson resigned her position as Board Trustee. This creates a vacancy on the Board.
The law provides for different ways this vacancy can be filled, and last night the Board voted 3-1 to fill the vacancy through an appointment by the Board. The one dissenting vote was cast by Trustee Katrina Young.
The Board agreed to fill this vacancy at its regularly scheduled meeting on April 22nd. In the coming days the District will make public its application process and outline the requirements necessary to apply to assume this Board appointment.
If you live in Trustee Area 5 and are interested in serving as School Board Trustee, I encourage you to apply when the process is announced.