D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) students and staff are required to test negative for COVID-19 in order to return to school on Monday following spring break, according to Fox 5 News.
Prior to spring break, DCPS, which is made up of 115 schools and nearly 50,000 students, sent families COVID-19 testing kits, requiring students and staff to submit negative test results to the district 24 hours before attending classes on Monday, according to Fox 5 News. This is the fourth time the district has required students and staff to test negative for COVID-19 following a break in the 2022-2023 school year.
“In implementing our Safe Return testing program in December and February, we were able to keep our schools open as students, families and staff returned to the classroom following week-long breaks,” Lewis D. Ferebee, DCPS chancellor said in a press release. “Our priority is to keep our students safely learning in the classroom, where we know they learn best. We appreciate the partnership of our entire community to collectively take this step to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.”
If a student tests positive for COVID-19, the school requires the child to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days from the beginning of their symptoms, Fox 5 News reported. Prior to spring break, nine DCPS students tested positive for COVID-19.
Today’s the day: to ensure we have a safe return to the classroom tomorrow, 4/24, all students and staff will be expected to provide a negative COVID-19 test to return from Spring Break.
Upload your results today at https://t.co/VbP4UTkAuR pic.twitter.com/DEFiq8vqUI
— DC Public Schools (@dcpublicschools) April 23, 2023
Following winter break, less than 1% of DCPS students tested positive for COVID-19, Fox 5 News reported. Of the 6,133 DCPS staff members, less than 2% tested positive upon returning to school in January.
The school district’s “health and safety measures” are “anchored” in the guidance from the Center for Disease and Control (CDC), DC Health and the Office of State Superintendent of Education, according to the DCPS website. The CDC no longer recommends that K-12 schools require routine testing for students and faculty.
DCPS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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