A lack of tests and shifting guidance has contributed to a bumpy rollout of the state’s new testing protocols for K-12 schools.
Last week, the Agency of Education announced the launch of its “Test at Home” COVID-19 testing plan to replace the in-school “Test to Stay” program.
The “Test to Stay” model relied on contact tracing and in-school PCR and rapid antigen testing for up to seven days for presumptive positive cases. However, state officials called the process “too slow and logistically burdensome” to keep up with the rapidly spreading omicron variant.
The new initiative also uses rapid antigen tests, but moves the location of the testing to at-home.
Under the new protocols, when an individual tests positive at school, schools will inform families of children in class with that individual, which will eliminate the need to contact trace.
Vaccinated students and vaccinated and boosted staff do not need to quarantine, but will receive two antigen tests to administer at home on the fourth and fifth days of their possible exposure.
Families of unvaccinated students will receive rapid test kits from the school and be asked to test the student at home each morning for five days.
A student can continue to attend school during that five-day period if they test negative each day. Proof of the negative does not need to be submitted to the school.
But while many school officials welcomed the end of contact tracing — acknowledging that it was too much work to sustain amid a surge in cases and a near-universal lack of staff — the transition to the new “Test at Home” model has not been without its headaches.
School administrators across the state have voiced their frustrations over a shortage of available antigen tests and what they characterize as confusing guidance from the state.
Slate Valley Unified Union School District in Rutland County, which has recorded 150 positive cases of COVID so far this month, launched “Test at Home” with only 128 test kits in hand, according to superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell.
On Friday, she said the current supply would likely be depleted by the end of the day.
She said she has ordered another 3,000 tests, but was unsure when they would arrive.
In the meantime, she said the district is rationing tests and giving them to families who have no other means of obtaining one.
She added that if tests are unavailable, schools will remain open, per updated AOE guidance released Thursday, which stated:
“If a school does not have enough test kits on hand to distribute to students who are presumptive contacts (school exposure), students should continue to come to school. Those who have been identified as close contacts (community exposure) or who are experiencing continuous exposure at home should follow the Health Department’s quarantine guidance. Any student who has COVID-19 symptoms should stay home from school. However, schools should not prevent students from attending school based on whether or not they have tested, and it is not the school’s responsibility to enforce compliance with Health Department guidance.”
Olsen-Farrell said while she appreciates the state attempting to alleviate some of the burden on schools that “Test to Stay” created, she called the transition “confusing and chaotic.”
“It’s a dramatic evolution in the guidance, and it’s difficult for people to wrap their heads around,” she said.
She said she has been updating her district’s COVID-19 management plan daily to keep up with the changes.
“There’s just a lot of mixed messages and a lot of different answers out there.” she said. “I feel like it’s very difficult for our staff to be on the same page within the district, not to mention between districts.”
To that end, she said she’s trying to keep her communications to families simple and not bombard them with too much information.
Part of that messaging is reminding families that testing is not a requirement, it’s a recommendation. However, she said, one requirement remains in place: If you’re sick, stay home.
“We’re just trying to do the best we possibly can,” she said.
Olsen-Farrell is not alone in her frustration.
Mark Tucker, superintendent of the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union, took the state to task in a commentary published in the Herald and Times-Argus this week, writing, “Like much of the state guidance this school year, it is long on recommendations and short on advice to school leaders regarding enforcement.”
He said that lack of enforcement at the state level has put local school officials and school boards, who are not developing the guidance, on the receiving end of criticism from families.
Tucker called the current recommendations “impractical” and “irresponsible,” and said concerns raised by school leaders “has fallen on deaf ears.”
“I wish the powers that be in the state would respect my intelligence and at least explain the rationale for their decisions,” he stated. “I am the one who has to explain it to my staff and my families, and I find myself at a loss in the most recent days to do anything more than regurgitate others’ words.”
In Washington County, Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools went through its inventory of nearly 1,000 test kits in two days, according to Superintendent Libby Bonesteel.
While Bonesteel awaits arrival of more tests, she said she’s reverting to the previous rules for schools with a vaccination rate of 80% or more, which is to notify families of an exposure and provide guidance as to when to test.
At Roxbury Village School, which has a vaccination rate of around 50%, unvaccinated individuals will need to quarantine and vaccinated individuals can come to school.
“I’m not sure if that’s what I’m supposed to do but, without … clarity from the Agency of Education, that’s what we’re going with,” she said.
Bonesteel was critical of the new guidance, which she argued was developed without considering the logistical hurdles school must clear, such as opening and staffing a test pickup site.
“The Agency of Education seems to think that this is easier on schools. It is not easier on schools,” she said.
Don Tinney, president of the Vermont-NEA, has also raised concerns about the new testing regimen.
“It’s incredibly frustrating and unfortunate that the inadequate supply chain of test kits is hindering the implementation of this new screening process while school personnel are still figuring out the logistics,” Tinney said in a written statement Friday. “The absence of effective tests means we all must keep the other mitigation protocols firmly in place: Get vaccinated and boosted, wear your masks indoors, and stay home when symptoms appear. We await further details from the Vermont Department of Health and the Agency of Education.”
In an email Friday afternoon AOE representative Ted Fisher said his agency and its state partners are “working diligently” to get schools the tests they need.
He noted that schools received approximately 120,000 tests at the end of last week, with more tests shipping today and early next week.
“We are working to expedite delivery to any Supervisory Unions and School Districts … that are using tests more quickly than anticipated,” he wrote.
Fisher declined to comment on any specific criticisms made by superintendents but did state “that the system is purposefully designed to be clear and easy to implement for both students and families. If it isn’t, (supervisory unions and school districts) should reach out to us for assistance with troubleshooting. To date, they have been very communicative with questions and issues as they come up.”
While rapid tests are currently in short supply, an additional 150,000 tests are expected to arrive in the state as part of a new Biden administration initiative. In a press release Thursday, Gov. Phil Scott suggested that some of those incoming tests may be allocated to schools, child care programs and long-term care facilities.
On Friday, the state reported 1,766 new cases of COVID-19, including 108 hospitalizations and 27 individuals in intensive care. The death toll rose to 514.
jim.sabataso @rutlandherald.com
