Positive COVID-19 Test

Individuals with a lab-confirmed COVID-19 positive test or students and staff who come into close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual will be asked to self-quarantine for up to 14 days and may not return to campus during that time or until they meet certain criteria.

Return to School & Work Guidelines UPDATED Jan. 4, 2021

Individuals Confirmed with COVID-19

Any individuals with a lab-confirmed COVID-19 positive test may return to school or work when the following criteria are met:

• At least one day (24 hours) has passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications); and

• The individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and

• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

Individuals Considered At-Risk of Exposure

Individuals identified as being exposed to someone with a lab-confirmed COVID-19 positive test will be quarantined based on the following:

• 10 days after the last close contact, so long as they continue to monitor themselves daily for symptoms and take appropriate precautions through day 14
• 7 days after the last close contact, after receiving a negative test result (administered at least 5 days after the last close contact), so long as they continue to monitor themselves daily for symptoms and take appropriate precautions through day 14

Individuals who return to school or work from these shorter quarantine windows should regularly monitor themselves to ensure they remain symptom-free and take appropriate precautions for the duration of the 14-day incubation period. Individuals who develop symptoms at any time during the 14-day incubation period should not report to school or work.

Individuals Suspected with COVID-19

If an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, the individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and may not return to school or work until they have completed the same three-step set of criteria listed above.

If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to school or work before completing the stay at home period, the individual must:

• Obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis; or

• Obtain an acute infection test (at a physician’s office, approved testing location, or other site) that comes back negative for COVID-19.

Close Contact & Exposure Guidelines UPDATED Aug. 10, 2020

When a student or employee notifies the District that they have received a positive test result for COVID-19, the District will work with the employee or student to identify all individuals who are at-risk for exposure.

An individual who meets the following criteria will be considered in close contact and having at-risk exposure:

• Being within 6 feet for a cumulative duration of 15 minutes; however, additional factors like case/contact masking (i.e., both the infectious individual and the potential close contact have been consistently and properly masked), ventilation, presence of dividers and case symptomology may affect this determination or

• Being directly exposed to infectious secretions (e.g., being coughed or sneezed on while not wearing a mask or face shield).

• And if either of the above occurred at any time in the last 14 days when the infected individual was considered infectious (at least two days prior to the onset of symptoms or two days prior to the test for asymptomatic individuals).

Per TEA guidelines, if there is a current lab-confirmed COVID-19 positive case on a campus during the 2020-2021 school year, all parents and staff of that campus will be notified. Additionally, all individuals on that campus who are identified as having at-risk exposure will be contacted directly and will be required to quarantine. The County will also be notified of individuals with a lab confirmed positive result.

International Travel Guidelines

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new COVID-19 international travel guidelines.

Any student or staff member who travels internationally will be required to quarantine upon return:

• Individuals who get tested for COVID-19 three to five days after they return from travel must quarantine for seven days.
• Individuals who do not get tested after they return from travel must quarantine for 10 days.

Lamar CISD students who travel internationally will attend virtual classes for the recommended quarantine period upon their return.

Individual, Class, Campus Quarantine

In the event of a COVID-19 positive case, an individual student, groups of students, a class, or an entire campus can temporarily pivot to a "Virtual Instruction Quarantine" model. The temporary Virtual Instruction Quarantine will be a remote asynchronous model, meaning that students will engage in the learning materials on their own time, interacting intermittently with a certified teacher.

The student(s) will complete asynchronous content instruction through their teacher's virtual platforms that are being used for in-class instruction.

The student(s) will participate in the elementary or secondary Canvas materials.

There will be daily progress monitoring and daily attendance will be based on work submission.

In the event of a temporary Virtual Instruction Quarantine, elementary parents should expect to temporarily provide additional support for their students, especially younger learners.

Virtual Quarantine Grading

Based on TEA guidelines, school grading policies for virtual student work must be consistent with those used before COVID-19 for on-campus assignments. Any virtual environment, by choice or by governmental decision, will follow the same grading guidelines as on-campus instruction, as set forth in our handbook and academic guides.

In turn, the grading policy in place on the campus will continue in a virtual environment and will not move to other systems such as pass/fail. This is also covered in this additional TEA guidance.