CDC Might Ease School COVID Guidelines: What It Means In Wisconsin

WISCONSIN – Federal health authorites are expected to ease COVID-19 guidelines for schools, according to a new report.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could announce the changes in the coming days, CNN reported. The CDC is expected to ease guidelines that address screening for the virus, as well as social distancing recommendations.

Regular COVID-19 screening in schools will likely be de-emphasized and the new measures are expected to loosen quarantine guidelines for those exposed to the virus, according to a preview of the plan obtained by CNN. The agency also reportedly plans to de-emphasize the 6-foot social distancing rule.

Instead of consistent screenings in schools, the CDC will likely suggest that testing be based on COVID-19 community levels and on higher-risk settings, such as nursing homes and prisons. The proposed changes have been revealed to some educators and public health officials and haven’t been finalized, as they are still being discussed, according to the report.

If enacted, the changes to COVID-19 guidelines could fall somewhat in line with the recently announced, but not yet finalized, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction updated COVID-19 guidance for the 2022-2023 school year.

In its new guidance, released July 27, the state DPI said the situation across Wisconsin has changed since the agency started putting out advice.

"DPI recognizes the tremendous burden mitigating and controlling the spread of COVID-19 has had on students’ education, the staff responsible for implementing mitigation measures, and the effect such measures has had on families over the past two plus years," the agency said.

The latest advice from the DPI focuses on getting people vaccinated, preventing sick people from attending school, and promoting testing to ensure that happens.

Other key points from the DPI guidance:

• "Anyone experiencing symptoms of illness should stay home from school. If
  experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, they should also get tested for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status. Schools should not allow staff or students to work or study in-person while sick."
• Wisconsin schools are not required to contact trace but are encouraged to work with local health departments.
• "Quarantine periods may be omitted. Asymptomatic (exposed) children
  and staff, regardless of where the exposure occurred, no longer need to quarantine. Students or staff who self-identify as close contacts may continue to attend school/work if they remain asymptomatic."
• The DPI encouraged schools to focus on removing ill or symptomatic students and staff from the classroom, which can be done using isolation rooms.
• If a student or staff member is symptomatic but tests immediately negative on site they can remain in school. Best practice for that includes wearing a mask until symptoms are resolved.
• If a student is too ill to be in school they should be sent home regardless of test results.
• If a student or staff member with symptoms cannot get a test immediately, they should be sent home until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without medication.

The CDC didn’t immediately respond to Patch’s inquiry about the reported looming changes. What the changes actually mean for schools in Wisconsin is yet to be ironed out.

But schools in Wisconsin have largely operated on their own. When it came to removing masks, schools largely went on a district-by-district decision basis. Further, emergency orders from Gov. Tony Evers have been largely blocked by Republicans.

COVID-19 guidelines have varied widely even since 2020 when the pandemic began. Several states and local governments have since removed many or all restrictions.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law in March allowing parents to opt their children out of wearing masks at school, even in districts that mandate them. Local governments and schools in Texas and Florida have been barred from requiring masks since May 2021, when governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis signed executive orders in their respective states.

Conversely, employees and volunteers at public schools in Washington, D.C. are required to be vaccinated, with exceptions for religious beliefs or medical conditions. In California, school staff must be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.