Oregon Department of Education - Oregon Achieves Together

OHA’s Statewide Reporting of COVID-19 Cases in Schools

Oregon Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/30/2020 01:59 PM PDT

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OHA’s Statewide Reporting of COVID-19 Cases in Schools

To: Superintendents, Principals, ESD Leaders, Charter School and Private School Leaders
From: Colt Gill, Director of the Oregon Department of Education
Date: September 30, 2020

Thank you for your ongoing service to our students, educators, families and communities. I’m writing to explain the reporting system for COVID-19 cases in schools and how schools and districts can respond.

Beginning today, Wednesday, September 30, 2020 the Oregon Health Authority will report all COVID-19 cases in schools that offer any form of in-person instruction, and for reporting purposes, will treat schools that have no students being served onsite as workplace outbreaks. This information will be published each Wednesday afternoon in OHA’s weekly report and on an ODE webpage. The reporting window for cases covers Monday of the preceding week through Sunday.

This reporting informs Oregonians about potential exposures to COVID-19 in our schools and provides transparent and comprehensive information about the spread of the virus. The new reporting protocol applies to all public and private schools and programs.

What Will Be Reported

For schools offering any form of in-person instruction, all cases of COVID-19 among students, staff and volunteers will be reported and included in OHA’s Weekly COVID-19 Report. ODE will post the school-related portion of the report on its website.
For schools offering only the Comprehensive Distance Learning instructional model with no in-person instruction (including offering no exceptions for K-3 or Limited In-Person Instruction) – and where staff and essential volunteers work on-site at a school location – OHA will follow the same reporting standard as for workplace outbreaks. OHA will report outbreaks of COVID-19 when five or more cases are identified in a school that has 30 or more employees.

Responding to a Positive COVID-19 Case or Exposure in Your Community

When a school or district leader becomes aware of a COVID-19 positive case or exposure:

When the local public health authority becomes aware of a COVID-19 positive case or exposure:

The school informs the local public health authority.
The school provides the name, date of birth, contact information, phone, address, and parent/guardian (if appropriate). It is critical that this information is shared only between the school and the local public health authority.
Contact tracing begins
The school and district communicate to their school community. Refer to the resource Planning and Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools for tools and support.

The local public health authority informs the superintendent of the school district.
The local public health authority provides the name and relevant information to the superintendent. It is critical that this information is shared only between the school and the local public health authority.
Contact tracing begins
The school and district communicate to their school community. Refer to the resource Planning and Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools for tools and support.

Note: To protect the privacy of those involved, no names will be released. When communicating with students, families, staff, media and the community: School and district leaders may only share the school name and number of cases. You may not share any personally identifiable information to ensure the privacy and safety protections are in place. Refer to the resource Planning and Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools for tools and support.

Planning and Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools

We encourage you to review the resource Planning and Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools which includes communication tools and templates to inform students, families, staff and the community if a positive case or exposure is known. While scenarios will be unique to the local community and school, these scenarios are examples that guide school leaders in their response.

Please send any questions and suggestions to ODECOVID19@ode.state.or.us.

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It is a policy of the State Board of Education and a priority of the Oregon Department of Education that there will be no discrimination or harassment on the grounds of race, color, sex, marital status, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability in any educational programs, activities or employment. For more information, visit the Anti-Discrimination Policy page.