Urbandale Community School District: UCSD COVID-19 Guidance: As Of December 10, 2021

Press release from the Urbandale Community School District:

December 9th, 2021

We continue to take the health and safety of our students, staff, and families seriously which is why we’d like to share the following guidance regarding current COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Please be aware, all of the following strategies/practices are current as of December 10, 2021, and are subject to change pending federal, state, and/or local decision-making.

Contact Tracing

• UCSD will be conducting contact tracing for positive COVID-19 cases that occur within the home. This means, when a student receives a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and the parent/guardian reports the diagnosis to the school nurse, the school nurse will provide recommendations for when household contacts can return to school. Household contacts are defined as those living in the same household as an infectious person (irrespective of whether face coverings are used in the household). 
• UCSD will not be conducting contact tracing for positive COVID-19 cases that occur within the school setting. However, UCSD will be providing notifications of exposure for the Adventuretime Before/After School program, Preschool program, and elementary schools. (See “Exposure Notification” below.)

Daily Practices

• A ‘sick bay’ will be established in schools to separate students who are presenting symptoms of illness (note: symptoms of any kind of illness).
• Frequent hand washing and/or hand sanitizing.
• Cough/sneeze etiquette will be reviewed and reminders shared as needed. 
• Routine cleaning of schools and disinfecting surfaces that are touched often. 
• Continuing with last year’s COVID-19 protocols regarding air exchange occurring every 15 minutes throughout buildings and classrooms.
• In addition to water bottle filling stations, drinking fountains will be turned on and available for use. 
• Breakfast will be served either in the classroom or the cafeteria depending on building preference. 
• Lunch will be served to our students in the cafeteria.

Dashboard
UCSD will update the COVID-19 Status Dashboard on a semi-weekly basis (by end-of-day on Tuesdays and Fridays) with the current number of positive cases per building (includes both students and staff), as well as the cumulative total positive cases district-wide (includes both students and staff) for the 2021-22 school year. The intention of the dashboard is to provide families and staff with positive case data so that families and staff can make informed decisions regarding personal mitigation measures. 

Exposure Notification
When we receive notification of a COVID-19 positive case (students and/or staff) in the Adventuretime Before/After School program, Preschool program, or an elementary school, we will provide exposure notifications via email to parents/guardians and staff. Notifications will be sent to parents/guardians by grade-level, and all building staff, for preschool through 5th grade. Notifications will be sent to Adventuretime staff and parents/guardians of students who participate in the Adventuretime Before/After program. 

External Facility Use
With the exception of youth sports groups currently scheduled at the stadium (outside), we have suspended external stakeholder facility use throughout the district. For additional information regarding facility usage, please contact Urbandale Community Education. 

Face Mask Requirements

• All UCSD staff, PreK-12 students, vendors, visitors, and spectators are required to wear a face mask (2-ply) while inside district buildings regardless of vaccination status.
• If students or staff forget their mask, schools will supply a disposable mask. 
• Masks are required for indoor activities. Masks are not required for outdoor activities.
• Per the Presidential Executive Order, students riding on school buses are still required to wear a face covering/mask. 
• The following in-building exceptions apply:
  • Employees working alone in their offices or rooms.
  • While participating in activities in which a face covering cannot be worn (e.g. lunch), or would prohibit respiratory function.
  • Individuals with an approved accommodation (e.g. IEP) that prevents the wearing of a face mask.

Medical / Religious Exemption

• An exemption is available for students as guided by their medical provider or religious beliefs. Please complete an exemption form below and submit to your school nurse:
  • (English) UCSD CERTIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FROM MASK REQUIREMENTS(Bosnian) POTVRDA O OSLOBA]ANJU OD ZAHTJEVA ZA MASKE
  • (Spanish) CERTIFICACIÓN DE EXENCIÓN PARA LOS REQUISITOS DEL USO DE MASCARILLA
  • (Hakha Chin) HMAIHUH HUH LODING NAWL HALNAK CERTIFICATION CA
  • (Burmese) MASK လိုအပ်ချက်များမှ ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်အသိအမှတ်ပြုခြင်း
• Staff may contact Human Resources regarding medical or religious exemptions.

Lifting the Mask Mandate

• Background: On 9/13/21, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt issued a temporary restraining order blocking HF 847 which prohibited the issuance of mask mandates. The temporary restraining order provided school districts the authority to revisit COVID-19 mitigation strategies including the use of masks by both students and staff in accordance with CDC recommendations.
• Scenario 1: If the courts were to issue a new ruling that would prohibit school districts from mandating masks, UCSD would remove the mandate in compliance with the ruling.
• Scenario 2: UCSD will revisit the mask mandate when Polk County moves to the “moderate” (5% – 7.99%) community transmission level as indicated by the CDC.

Monitoring and Reporting Illness

• It is very important for parents and guardians to continue monitoring their child’s health. If your child has a temperature of 100.4 or higher, we ask that you keep your child home, observe for symptoms such as sore throat, rash, vomiting, or diarrhea, and follow up with your healthcare provider. 
• If your child does not have a temperature, but is feeling ill and the illness prevents your child from participating comfortably in academics/activities, please keep your child home until illness symptoms have passed.
• Please continue to be aware of the following COVID-19 symptoms:
  • High risk symptoms include a new cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or a loss of taste or smell.
  • Other symptoms include fever and/or chills, sore throat, headache, body aches, fatigue, runny nose, congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
  • Students with COVID-19 symptoms should contact their healthcare provider for further evaluation.
• When calling in your child absent from school, please be sure to contact your school’s attendance line leaving your student name, grade, symptoms, temperature, and a number we can reach you if we have further questions. 
• Please contact your school nurse and report any exposure your child may have to a positive case of COVID-19 within your home. 
• If your student has been tested for COVID-19, they should remain home until test results are received from your testing site.
• Please contact your school nurse and report if your child is diagnosed with COVID-19. 
• You’re welcome to contact your school nurse if you have questions regarding potential exposures outside of school.

Persons Who Test Positive For COVID-19
Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must remain home until they are no longer infectious. 

• Persons sick with COVID-19 are considered infectious until: 
  • At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared AND,
  • At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication AND,
  • Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving.
• Persons who tested positive for COVID-19 but did not develop symptoms are considered infectious until:
  • 10 days have passed following the date the positive specimen was collected.

The above guidance applies to both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. Reminder: All persons who are experiencing an illness should stay home while they are ill, even if they test negative for COVID-19 or receive an alternative diagnosis. 

School Meetings, Events, and Activities  

• UCSD connected organizations, such as PTOs, will be able to conduct meetings on site or virtually depending on the preferences of the parties involved. 
• Parent/Guardian meetings (e.g. IEP, conferences, 504) may be conducted on site or virtually depending on the preferences of the parties involved.
• For the most up to date information regarding Activities for grades 7 – 12, visit: j-hawks.com

Visitors In School

• As the COVID-19 vaccine is currently approved for individuals 5 years of age and older, visitors are permitted for Kindergarten through 12th grades. This means that students, staff, families, and visitors in compliance with school visitor policies and Principal approval are allowed inside our elementary (K-5), middle, and high school buildings.
• Visitors are not permitted during lunch for Kindergarten through 8th grades.
• Visitors are required to wear face masks while inside district buildings. 
• Building Principals may limit the number of adult visitors in a classroom, or in an area of the building, at any given time.
• Adventuretime Before/After School Drop-Off/Pick-Up Procedures: Parents/guardians will be required to walk students into the designated entrance of the facility to sign their student in/out. Families will be asked to social distance from one another while waiting in line to sign their student in/out of programming. Please be aware that only students and staff will be permitted past the designated sign in/out area. When parents arrive to pick up their student, the Adventuretime staff member working at the designated sign-in/out area will call for the student on the walkie talkie and a staff member will bring your student(s) to you at the designated sign-in/out area.

Visitor Restrictions

• As children 4 years and younger are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, visitors are not permitted within our Preschool program. This means that only students, staff, and approved visitors providing direct services are allowed inside Preschool classrooms.

The above information is based on guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health, Polk County Health Department, and UCSD legal counsel. 

This press release was produced by the Urbandale Community School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.