COVID-19 Protocols

Please contact the attendance clerk at your school right away and also fill out the "COVID-19 Symptoms and Positive Cases" form under the Family Resources tab of your school's home page.

Your child will have an option of two protocols:

10-day isolation period

Your student stays home for a full 10 days and can return to school on Day 11 without taking a test.

5-day isolation period

Your student stays home for a full five days and can return to school on Day 6 as long as:

• They have been fever free for 24 hours and
• Their symptoms are improving

Note: A negative test is no longer required to return to school after testing positive for COVID-19.

The California Department of Public Health also recommends that students wear a well-fitting mask around others for ten days after the start of their symptoms or their positive test.

Families of students who test positive will also receive detailed instructions via email.

The strategies for reducing the transmission of COVID-19 within your household include:

• Wearing a mask

• Washing your hands frequently

• Avoiding sharing items

• Optimizing ventilation, including by keeping doors and windows open

• Cleaning surfaces frequently

For more information, please review ACPHD’s “Home Isolation and Quarantine Instructions for People with COVID-19 and Their Household or Close Contacts” fact sheets.

No.  The Alameda County Public Health District has advised AUSD that subsequent testing does not override the need for positive cases to “isolate”  as determined by the initial testing. This is because the viral load in your child's nose may have dropped below detection levels by the time they are tested, but your child may still be infectious. As such, the district needs to respond to the initial positive result. This direction may change in the future depending on community spread, but ultimately we cannot make these decisions. Instead the district and our schools must follow county direction.

If a member of a class or cohort tests positive for COVID, students and staff can continue to attend school, regardless of their vaccination status.

The California Department of Public Health recommends that people exposed to COVID-19:

• Mask  for 10 days after the last exposure.
• Test for COVID-19 three to five days after last exposure. Each AUSD school keeps rapid tests in the front office for students and staff to use. As long as students test negative and remain without symptoms they can continue to attend class.
• Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days after last exposure.

Elementary principals will send an email to their school communities weekly with information about the total case numbers on campus.  

If there is a positive case in a classroom with a student who is immunocompromised or otherwise at high risk for severe disease from COVID, the principal will send a message to all families asking them to mask to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. We ask that families comply with this request for the sake of our more vulnerable students.

Principals will send schoolwide notifications periodically with information on the number of positive cases and testing availability.

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated children who are exposed to a positive case can continue to attend school as long as they have no symptoms. However, they should:

• Mask for 10 days
• Monitor for symptoms for 14 days
• Test on Day 3-5 after last exposure.

We know this is difficult, especially for younger children. We recommend taking a look at CDPH's "Quarantine and Isolation Guidelines" for more information.

First, consider whether your child’s symptoms are  new or different than your child's usual health. Public health experts suggest that you use your own understanding of your child's health to make the  determination.  

If the symptoms are unusual for your child, do not  send them to school. Instead, contact your school's attendance clerk, fill out the "COVID-19 Symptoms and Positive Cases" form under "Family Resources"  on your school's home page.  

It takes less than five minutes to fill out the form. Once you submit it, you’ll receive an email with instructions about your child’s isolation dates, the testing schedule, and other important information.

Please test  your child for the virus once symptoms appear and then again 24 to 48 hours later, as at-home tests do not always detect COVID early in the infection period.

Students can return to school when their symptoms are improving and they have been free or fever and/or vomiting for at least 24 hours. A negative test is no longer required to return to school after having the symptoms of COVID-19.

For more information, please review:

• ACPHD: “If My Child Has Symptoms”  
• Minnesota Children's Hospital: How to Care for COVID-19 Symptoms at Home

No. Students should not come to school if they have symptoms of COVID-19 (or any other illness).

If a child develops these symptoms at school, the teacher will call the office.  Ill  students need to be picked up by a parent/guardian or designated emergency contact as soon as possible.

Students who develop symptoms at home should stay at home their symptoms have improved and the  student has been fever free for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medication.