We’re getting a lot of questions about vaccinations and our COVID-19 policies, especially in light of the CDC’s big news today about fully vaccinated people not needing to wear masks. We want to let you know how this impacts Austin ISD and update you on other COVID-19 policies and vaccination opportunities.
How does the CDC decision impact Austin ISD?
As you are no doubt aware, on Thursday, the CDC said that Americans who are fully vaccinated can go without masks both indoors and outside regardless of physical distancing. Since we have no way to verify vaccination statuses and, until this week, most of our students were not yet eligible to be vaccinated, Austin ISD will continue to require masking through the rest of the school year and with graduation ceremonies.
At this time, we will evaluate the CDC’s new guidance and how that might impact our policies for the summer classes and the 2021-2022 school year as we continue to increase our vaccine efforts and devise a system to verify whether individuals are vaccinated.
- If you have any questions about this, go to Let’s Talk or text your question to 512-886-6434.
How can I get my 12-15-year-old vaccinated?
This week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the safe and effective Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12-15. With this news, Austin ISD and our vaccine partners welcome all students ages 12-15 to our upcoming pop-up clinics distributing the vaccine.
How does the new outdoor mask policy work?
Wearing a mask will no longer be required when students are actively engaged in outdoor physical activities, when physical distancing can be maintained, such as recess, WOW, and physical education. Aligned with CDC guidance, this new policy, effective May 12, applies only to recess or in a physical education class; masks may be considered but are not required — and only to children whose parent or caregiver has signed a consent form provided by the campus.
Here are some important details:
- 6 feet physical distance and being actively engaged in a physical activity must be maintained while masks are off outdoors. If physical distancing cannot be maintained, or a student is not actively engaging in physical activity, then masks will be required.
- The ability to remove masks outdoors does not include students sitting, standing, and walking in small groups, for example between periods in a courtyard or outdoor walkways.
- Masks will still be required for all other outdoor activities, including graduation ceremonies.
- This does not apply to Austin ISD staff, who still need to wear masks.
Can you explain the update to the quarantine rules?
Austin ISD has reduced the length of a quarantine from 14 to 10 days, except in cases when masks were not worn consistently or high-risk people who have not been vaccinated are involved. In these cases, a 14-day quarantine would be required for all involved. This change does not apply to people who were on a 14-day quarantine period before May 12 because of changes to the contact tracing process for a 10-day quarantine that were not present when we were following a 14-day quarantine period.
Why were the changes to recess and quarantines made?
COVID-19 cases in Austin/Travis County are continuing to decrease. We are expected to move into Stage 2 within the next couple of weeks. Due to cases becoming lower within Austin/Travis County and Austin ISD, we are able to adjust on some of our protocols in time for schools to plan end-of-year activities while still following CDC guidelines and recommendations.
- If you have any questions about this, go to Let’s Talk or text your question to 512-886-6434.
As always, thank you for helping us keep our students, teachers, and community safe. Thanks to all of you wearing masks and practicing social distancing, the COVID-19 numbers keep falling and vaccinations keep rising. Thank you for your patience and continued cooperation.
Yours,
Alexandra Copeland
Health Services Director
We’re getting a lot of questions about vaccines and our COVID-19 regulations, especially in the wake of today’s big news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that vaccines Fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask. We want to let you know how this affects Austin ISD and update you on other COVID-19 regulations and vaccination opportunities.
How does the CDC’s decision affect Austin ISD?
As you no doubt know, On Thursday, the CDC said that Americans who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask both indoors and outdoors, regardless of physical distancing. Since we have no way of verifying immunization status and, as of this week, the majority of our students were not yet eligible to be immunized, Austin ISD will continue to require the use of masks for the remainder of the school year and at ceremonies. graduation.
At this time, we are going to assess the new CDC guidelines and how they might affect our standards for summer school and the 2021-2022 school year as we continue to increase our vaccination efforts and devise a system to be able to verify if people are vaccinated.
- If you have any questions about this, go to Let’s Talk or text your question to 512-886-6434.
How can I vaccinate my children who are between 12 and 15 years old?
This week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the safe and effective Pfizer-BionTech COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12-15. With this news, Austin ISD and our vaccination partners invite all students ages 12-15 to our upcoming pop-up vaccination clinics.
- You can find future pop-up vaccination clinics on our calendar at https://www.austinisd.org/calendar. Check back often as new events are added frequently.
What is the new standard for face masks when outside?
It is not necessary to wear a mask when students participate in outdoor physical activities and when physical detachment can be maintained, such as recess, WOW, and PE. In alignment with CDC guidelinesThis new rule, which came into effect on May 12, only applies to recess or a Physical Education class; Face masks may be considered but are not necessary and only for children whose parent or caregiver has signed a consent form provided by the campus.
Here are some important details:
- The 6-foot physical distance and being actively participating in a physical activity should be maintained while face masks are not being worn outside. If physical distancing cannot be maintained or a student is not actively participating in physical activity, then the use of face masks will be required.
- The ability to remove the mask outside does not include students who are sitting, standing, and walking in small groups, for example, between class periods on a playground or outside walks.
- Face masks are required for all other outdoor activities, including graduation ceremonies.
- This does not apply to Austin ISD personnel, who must still wear face masks.
Can you explain the updated quarantine rules?
The Austin ISD has reduced the quarantine time from 14 to 10 days, except in cases where face masks were not used consistently or high-risk people who have not been vaccinated are involved. In these cases, a 14-day quarantine would be necessary for all those involved. This change does not apply to people who were in a 14-day quarantine period prior to May 12 due to changes to the contact tracing process for a 10-day quarantine who were not present when we were following a quarantine period of 14 days.
Why were the changes made for recess and quarantines?
COVID-19 cases continue to decline in Austin and Travis County. We are expected to move to Stage 2 in the next couple of weeks. Due to the reduction of cases in Austin, Travis County and the Austin ISD, we are able to adjust some of our protocols in time so that schools can plan their end-of-year activities, while continuing to follow CDC guidelines and recommendations.
- If you have any questions about this, go to Let’s Talk or text your question to 512-886-6434.
As always, thank you for helping us keep our students, teachers, and community safe. Thanks to all of you who are wearing face masks and practicing social distancing, COVID-19 numbers continue to decline and vaccination continues to rise. Thank you for your patience and your constant cooperation.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Copeland
Director of Health Services
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