Westlake, Lake Travis schools reexamine protocols as classes resume amid omicron surge

The Eanes school district changed the isolation policy for those who test positive for COVID-19 to be in line with a recent recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control as students head back to class amid a huge surge in cases.

Students and staff who test positive in Eanes now only have to quarantine for a minimum of five days before they can return to campuses, so long as they are no longer sick and are willing to wear a mask for five days after their quarantine ends.

"Should you meet the criteria to end isolation after five days but not wish to wear a mask at school for the next five days, you will need to remain home for the 10-day isolation period," the district wrote in an email to parents this week. "If you have a fever, stay home until your fever resolves. Of course, if you or your child feel ill, please stay home and do not return to school until you are well. Keeping our schools as safe as possible for all will allow us our best chance to keep our classrooms and schools open."

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Superintendent Tom Leonard said the district is in regular contact with Austin Public Health and is making the best decisions it can about its isolation policy even as guidance from the CDC, the Texas Education Agency and the state Department of State Health Services are not aligned. State agencies have not changed their guidance about a 10-day quarantine period since the CDC issued its most recent update.

Before the holiday break, the district required students and staff who tested positive to isolate for 10 days before returning to campus as long as symptoms had cleared. People who were free of symptoms after seven days were allowed to return early with a negative test.

In the neighboring Lake Travis school district, the isolation protocols are remaining the same as they were last semester. Students and staff members have to stay off campus for at least 10 days if they are sick or test positive, or longer if symptoms persist. Those who wish to return to campus must provide two negative PCR tests.

Superintendent Paul Norton said the district is waiting on updated state guidance before changing isolation rules for students and did not feel comfortable reducing quarantine time for staff given the omicron surge. Austin Public Health reported Tuesday that one in three of COVID tests in the area last week came back positive, a record high rate. The community transmission rate in Austin exceeds the statewide average and leadership at APH said a return to Stage 5 guidelines is imminent without demonstrative behavior changes in the community.

Norton said that over the break, the district began the process of installing air purifiers in high-traffic areas on campus to try and reduce spread. He asked that students and staff with possible symptoms stay home and get tested.

"Our big ask is that if you have symptoms and you're sick, please stay home. We know that cedar allergies right now are really bad, but we'd much rather people be safe than sorry and if you're having symptoms, please stay home. Please get tested with any method possible," he said. "We have to just stay home, get tested and get well and then come back to campus."

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Neither district is requiring masks for students or staff right now, though both encourage masking. Leonard said the mask issue comes down to enforcement, which he said is difficult because districts do not have the authority to exclude students from campus over compliance with a mask mandate. However, he said he anticipates a lot of people will be masked for the start of the new semester.

"We have seen a lot of kids and a lot of staff members wearing masks, particularly anytime the area goes into a heightened stage," he said. "I think that we're going to see a lot of kids and staff members wearing masks, as we are highly recommending."

Leonard said the district's policies are geared toward keeping campuses open and operating. He pointed to other industries, including airlines and restaurants, that are struggling with staffing as employees get sick and have to miss work.

"It would be naive to suspect that all school districts and other organizations will not have some staffing issues over the next couple of weeks. And our main goal is what our goal has been for the last 16 months, to have continuous in-person learning, so we want to stay open," he said. "We recognize that there will be potentially some staffing shortages due to people either having to isolate or quarantine in the next couple of weeks, that is probably more than we've ever experienced."

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