COVID-19 District Information
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to the California COVID-19 isolation requirement and our notification process were updated Monday, March 13. Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 should continue to isolate for five (5) days but may leave isolation after five (5) days if they are feeling well, symptoms are improving, and are fever-free for 24 hours. This means a negative test is no longer required for staff to return to work after five days of isolation, provided they meet these criteria.
Additionally, school sites will no longer issue community notifications about positive cases unless there is a cluster of cases in a class, similar to notifications for other infectious diseases. However, due to Cal-OSHA requirements, staff will continue to receive notifications regarding positive cases reported at their school site or work location.
The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families continue to be our top priority. We encourage everyone to continue practicing good hygiene and staying home if they feel sick.
Students with a fever of 100.4 or higher or any COVID-19 symptoms including chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, muscle or body aches, the new loss of smell/taste, vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea must stay home. If your student is sick, please consult with your healthcare provider.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a statement announcing that the proposed vaccine mandate will not be in effect for the 2022-23 school year. As a result, there will not be a state COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students for the entirety of the 2022-23 school year.
In a related development, Senator Richard Pan on April 14 withdrew a proposed bill (SB 871) that would have required all California students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting in 2023. The legislation would have also eliminated personal exemptions.
Despite SB 871 being withdrawn, the student vaccine mandate announced by the CDPH in October 2021 is still scheduled to go into effect via a two-phase approach (grades 7-12 in the first phase and grades K-6 in the second phase) and will become effective once the COVID-19 vaccine has been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the two grade spans. With SB 871 no longer moving forward, parents will be able to opt their children out of the vaccine requirement for personal belief and medical exemptions if the requirement proceeds through the CDPH regulatory process in the future.
The vaccine verification or weekly testing requirement for employees and volunteers continues through at least June 30, 2022. We expect further information from CDPH regarding the requirement for the 2022-2023 school year in the near future.
All of our current HBCSD COVID-19 precautions and processes remain in place. We continue to offer free student COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits throughout the District. Please contact your school for more information. As always we will keep you updated as we learn more.
Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) list of local locations for COVID-19 vaccinations
Based on updated guidance from the state, as of March 11, masks are not be required in schools but will remain strongly recommended, regardless of vaccination status.
We understand and respect that there are different perspectives regarding this announcement. We remain committed to fostering supportive school environments where we respect individual choice. We ask that you also respect and support personal choice, and treat individuals with kindness. If your student(s) expresses any anxiety, please reach out to your school site for support from our school counselors or other staff.
KN-95 masks will continue to be available for students and staff at all of our school sites. Additionally, our District will continue to follow the current mitigation strategies including safety and cleaning protocols; high-quality ventilation systems; and symptom monitoring recommendations. Current volunteer processes and testing requirements will remain unchanged.
We continue to remind our students, staff, and families to monitor for symptoms and remain home when sick. COVID-19 testing is recommended if one exhibits symptoms and/or if they have a known exposure to COVID-19.
HBCSD understands that families may have different views and experiences related to public health orders and guidance issued by state officials. The Orange County Health Care Agency, the Orange County Department of Education, and all local boards and schools in Orange County must implement and enforce the requirements required by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in the new K-12 school guidance and may not implement policies that are less restrictive than the requirements by CDPH which are enforceable under the California Emergency Services Act, Government Code 8665.
To share input regarding the K-12 school guidance and public health orders mandating masks indoors, please contact the following state officials:
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued updated 2022-2023 COVID-19 guidance for schools.
The District continues to offer rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to parents of district students upon request. CDPH recommends that antigen tests be considered the primary option for detecting COVID-19 in schools, compared to PCR tests.
Given that COVID-19 testing, self-isolation guidance, and public health agency reporting procedures have evolved during the course of the pandemic, we have discontinued the HBCSD COVID-19 dashboard at this time.
When a positive case is reported at a school site or work location, families and employees at that location will be notified by their site administrator. HBCSD will also follow the Orange County Health Care Agency guidance regarding reporting outbreaks (three or more linked cases) at a particular location, similar to the process used for reporting outbreaks of other infectious diseases.
