Reduction in mandatory quarantine length

Dear Schuylerville families,

As we communicated in our reopening plan this summer, one of the district’s chief priorities for the 2021-22 school year is to safely maintain in-person learning for all students. Given the burden that quarantine can have on students and families, Saratoga County Public Health Services (SCPHS) has implemented an option to reduce the length of quarantine from 10 days to 7 full days, using symptom monitoring and diagnostic testing.

Early Release from Quarantine Criteria

Parents/guardians who wish to request reduced quarantine must submit three items to SCPHS: 

  • Proof of identity
  • A negative COVID-19 test (approved tests include antigen tests and PCR tests. Self-administered, at-home tests are not eligible.) 
  • A completed, signed form attesting to lack of symptoms of COVID-19 in your child and willingness to maintain continued vigilance against COVID-19 masking, symptom monitoring, social distancing, personal hygiene, and environmental cleaning.)

Please note: Students are not required to submit a request for reduced quarantine, but will have to remain in quarantine for the full 10 days if the above process is not followed.

Testing Details
  • The COVID-19 test must be performed by a laboratory permitted by the New York State Department of Health.
  • The specimen must be collected no sooner than Day 5 of quarantine and within 48 hours of the time of planned quarantine discontinuation.  Quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than after Day 7.  
  • Day 5 of quarantine is defined as the fifth day after a student’s last documented close contact exposure to an individual infectious with COVID-19 (“last exposure”). For example, if a student’s last exposure took place sometime on September 1, the fifth day of quarantine would be on September 6.  If a specimen collected on September 6 tested negative for COVID-19, the individual could potentially be released from quarantine after 11:59 PM on September 8.
  • The laboratory report must include the name of the laboratory, name of the student tested and their date of birth, the date the specimen was collected, and the result of the viral test. 
  • Parents/guardians will complete a request for reduced quarantine form after following the above protocols. 
  • The New York State Department of Health maintains a list of COVID-19 testing locations here. 

Please note: students under quarantine who are found to have more than one close contact exposure to an individual infectious with COVID-19 may have their quarantine period reset, based upon the date of the last documented exposure. For example, if a case exposes a group of five, close contacts on September 1 and one of those five close contacts later develops symptoms on September 3, the remaining four close contacts would have their quarantine period extended by two days. 

Testing at Schuylerville CSD

In an effort to aid in the testing process and assist students in being released from quarantines, diagnostic, antigen COVID-19 tests have been ordered by Schuylerville CSD. When they are delivered, testing, by appointment, will be available at the nurses’ offices in each of the three buildings. Tests are not expected to be delivered to the district until November.

Families with students in mandatory quarantines will receive all of this information again, as cases arise. In the meantime, we wanted to inform our entire school community of this change in protocol. We are hopeful these new procedures will assist the district in maintaining continuity of learning for students this school year.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Thank you,

Dr. Ryan Sherman
Superintendent

Gregg Barthelmas
COVID-19 Coordinator
Director of Pupil Personnel Services