COVID 19

2022-23 Operating Framework

As we enter our third academic year after the onset of COVID, we continue the transition towards living with COVID.  Testing, vaccinations, natural immunity and the evolution of the virus afford schools the ability to assume a more normalized approach and remove many of the precautions required over the last two years.  This approach allows school professionals to focus nearly 100% of their time on the academic, emotional and spiritual growth of our students.

While protocols such as contact tracing have been lifted for the 2022-23 school year, the most effective precaution remains – any individual with symptoms of COVID-19 must stay home and positive individuals must isolate for a minimum of five days. Continuing to be diligent in ensuring known sick individuals stay home provides the protection to remove other administratively burdensome protocols.

The following bullets provide a summary of the COVID protocols for the 2022-2023 school year, with additional detail in the sections below:

• Individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 or any illness should stay home while sick.
• Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate from all school activities for five days and report the positive case to their school. Upon their return to school, no masks are required if they test negative on/after day 5.
• Absent a negative test, recently positive students must mask for days 6-10 and social distance at lunch.
• PCR tests, professionally administered antigen/rapid tests, and home tests are allowed in any situation requiring a test. Note that PCR tests are not recommended when returning to school post isolation, as their sensitivity will likely result in positive readings post infectious period.
• Based on data collected since removal of the mask mandate earlier this year, contact tracing is no longer required. Close contacts will no longer be identified, and thus no longer be required to mask, quarantine or social distance at lunchtime.
• Schools should inform families of all in-classroom, positive COVID-19 cases. Families are encouraged to take any precautions they consider appropriate.
• When there are three cases in a classroom within a 10-day period, all students in that classroom must mask for 10 days.
• While vaccinations are recommended to help prevent serious symptoms, there is no vaccination requirement for either students or staff.

Masks - Use, Refusals and Exemptions

Mask Use:

Masks remain optional for all schools within the Archdiocese of Chicago with two exceptions:

• Anyone returning from a 5-day isolation (i.e., recently positive) who has not tested negative on/after day 5 must wear a mask when indoors on days 6 – 10.
• In situations where a classroom has 3 or more positive cases within a ten-day period, the entire classroom may be required to mask for ten days from the last day of attendance of the third case. In the event of additional cases in that classroom within the 10-day masking period, the mask mandate will be capped at the 10-days after the onset of the 3^rd consecutive case within the 10-day period and cannot be extended.

Masks Refusals
With all students mask optional unless recently positive or in a classroom with numerous cases, mask refusals should be limited this school year. However, if an individual refuses to mask in one of the situations above, please see specific guidance for scenarios in which students, parents or visitors attempt to enter the school without a mask.

Use the Mask Refusal Letter and add your school's letterhead for any parents who send their child to school without a mask.

Mask Exemptions/Waiver Requests
Requests for mask waivers fall into two categories: medically based and not medically based.

Waivers due to a medical reason

Medical mask waivers will only be granted based on a physician diagnosed medical condition that precludes wearing a mask and if a face shield is worn and distancing observed. Because mask requirements are very limited, we expect to issue very few medically-based mask waivers for our schools.

1. Any family seeking a medically-based mask waiver request must complete a Physician Certification Form.
2. Once completed, either the school or family must submit the form to the OCS Accommodation Team at waivers@archchicago.org. If submitting on behalf of the family, the school should include contact information for the family making the request.
3. The OCS will coordinate with the family and principal any additional information that is needed to determine if a student can be safely accommodated with a mask waiver.
4. While awaiting decision on the medical waiver, schools may send work home for the student or arrange short term virtual learning options already available at the school.

Waiver requests for other reasons

Because mask requirements will be very limited this year, we are not accepting exemptions or waiver requests for non-medical reasons. If a parent prefers that their child not mask in a required situation, parents have two options:

1. If the child was recently positive, the parent may test the child on or after day 5. If the child tests negative, masking is not required upon their return to school.
2. If the child continues to test positive, or is in a class required to mask, the child may remain home through the 10-day masking period and return day 11 with masks optional.

Protocol for Symptomatic Individuals Not Yet Confirmed with COVID

• Any individuals who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 must stay home regardless of vaccination status to minimize the chance of spreading COVID-19 or other germs and viruses.
• Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever (temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
• If symptoms resolve within 24 hours, an individual may return to school.
• If symptoms last longer than 24 hours, an individual must receive a negative COVID-19 test or alternative medical diagnosis prior to returning to school.
• Schools should consider known, child-specific chronic conditions when determining whether a child should remain home. For example, a child with known allergies would not need to stay home with sneezing and a runny nose if no other symptoms are present.

Protocol for Individuals Confirmed with COVID

Any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate for a full 5 days regardless if symptoms are present or not and regardless if symptoms resolve before the 5 days are complete.

• For symptomatic people, Day 1 is the first full day after symptoms develop.
• For asymptomatic people, Day 1 is the first full day after the positive test is administered.

If the person is asymptomatic or symptoms resolve before the fifth day, the individual must still complete the full five days of isolation. After five-day isolation, individuals that test negative on or after day 5 may return to school mask optional, while individuals not testing or testing positive may return but must wear a mask around others through day 10. Rapid and home tests are both allowable when returning day 6 to resume mask optional. PCR tests are discouraged on day 5 or after due to their increased sensitivity and processing time.

Individuals with symptoms lasting longer than five days must wait until they are fever-free and symptoms mostly resolved for 24 hours before leaving isolation.

Lunchtime

• Schools may return to traditional lunchroom seating as preferred. As with masking, the only lunchtime seating requirements relate to recently positive students and classrooms with temporary masking requirements due to multiple COVID cases.
• Students returning to school after a minimum 5-day isolation period (due to testing positive) that have not tested negative on/after day 5 must distance at lunch through day 10. These students may sit at the same table as classmates as long as they are 6 feet away while eating with their mask off.
• Recently positive students that test negative on/after day 5 are not required to distance at lunch
• Classrooms with temporary mandatory masking due to multiple COVID positive individuals should distance at lunch, if possible.

Athletics and Extracurricular Activities

• Students returning from isolation (recent COVID positive test results) may participate in athletics upon their return to school.
• Extracurriculars must follow the same masking policy as the normal school day – a recently positive child must mask during indoor extracurriculars through day 10 unless they test negative on/after day 5.

Vaccination Policy

The Archdiocese is not collecting COVID-19 vaccination information for students and staff in Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools.

The Weinberg Family says: "St. Stan's has been such a wonderful choice for our family. I was very scared to send our girls to preschool during the Covid-19 pandemic but I am so happy we did. The school set protocols and followed them to a T, which allowed our students to stay in school for the entire fall semester until winter break. St. Stan's has been a very warm, welcoming community and I could not be more happy with our teachers, the management and the principal. I believe they are taking good care of our girls and we are happy to be in the St. Stan's family."

• Free and Low-Cost Internet Plans

• Food assistance is available at any CPS school (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.) or food distribution centers. No enrollment/residency requirement, and no questions asked. Every package includes three days’ worth of breakfast and lunch for each student. Families may call 773-553-5437 for an emergency delivery. Learn more.

• How to protect yourself and your family – Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• What to do if you are sick – CDC