We will follow CDC and Austin Public Health guidelines as listed in the TEA return to school guidelines in regards to any student that comes in close contact with someone that comes in contact with someone that tests positive for COVID-19.
Individuals Confirmed or Suspected with COVID-19
1. Any individuals who themselves either:
(a) are lab-confirmed to have COVID-19; or
(b) experience the symptoms of COVID-19 (listed below) must stay at home throughout the infection period, and cannot return to campus until the school system screens the individual to determine any of the below conditions for campus re-entry have been met:
In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may return to school when all three of the following criteria are met:
i. at least one day (24 hours) has passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications);
ii. the individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and
iii. at least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has 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 before completing the above stay at home period, the individual must either
(a) obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis or
(b) obtain an acute infection test at an approved testing location (https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/) that comes back negative for COVID-19
We will contact our Austin Public Health authorities and follow their guidelines.
We will communicate with all parents involved.
TEA defines close contact as such:
Close Contact
This document refers to “close contact” with an individual who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19. The definition of close contact is evolving with our understanding of COVID-19, and individual 9 scenarios should be determined by an appropriate public health agency.
In general, close contact is defined as:
a. being directly exposed to infectious secretions (e.g., being coughed on); or
b. 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.
Either (a) or (b) defines close contact if it occurred during the infectious period of the case, defined as two days prior to symptom onset to 10 days after symptom onset. In the case of asymptomatic individuals who are lab-confirmed with COVID-19, the infectious period is defined as two days prior to the confirming lab test and continuing for 10 days following the confirming lab test.
RESPOND: Practices to Respond to a Lab-Confirmed Case in the School Required Actions if Individuals with Lab-Confirmed Cases Have Been in a School
1. If an individual who has been in a school is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19, the school must notify its local health department, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, including confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
2. Schools must close off areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case (student, teacher, or staff) until the non-porous surfaces in those areas can be disinfected, unless more than 7 days have already passed since that person was on campus.
3. Consistent with school notification requirements for other communicable diseases, and consistent with legal confidentiality requirements, schools must notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students in a school if a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students, teachers or staff who participate on any on campus activities.
Financial aid is available for STCS families each academic year. The financial aid application can be accessed by logging in to your FACTS account. FACTS charges a $35
fee for Financial Aid applications and will assess financial need based on the financial information provided. Families can additionally reach out to the campus principal to discuss the possibility of any increase in financial need for the upcoming school year.