Dear Superintendents and School Leaders,
Representatives from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have released additional details on the state’s plans to distribute at-home COVID-19 antigen tests for public school (district and charter) students in grades K-12. The state has advised that the allocation does not include private school students.
Essentially, the program will work like last year’s allocation of personal protective equipment, with county offices of education serving as distribution centers. Testing kits will be delivered to the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE); CDPH representatives said the tests may be delivered to SDCOE by Friday, Dec. 31, but we have not received a firm delivery date. We will notify district superintendents and charter school leaders when we have received the tests.
Assuming SDCOE receives the test kits in accordance with the timeline above, school districts and charter schools may come to our warehouse in Linda Vista (5304 Metro St., 92110) to pick up their allocations between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 1 in order to offer test kits to their students before they return to school.
Districts and charters that are not able to arrange pickup on Jan. 1 may receive their allocation during the week of Jan. 3 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Please use this form to indicate your district or school’s interest in picking up test kits and to designate a point of contact for further communication about pick-up logistics.
If your district or school has already received at-home test kits for use by students returning from winter break, you are not eligible to receive additional kits at this time. If that's the case, please use the online form to indicate that you have already received a supply for your student population.
For planning purposes, we are told the test kits will arrive on pallets. One pallet is approximately 48 x 40 x 82 inches, and each pallet has 7,560 kits. The state anticipates the kits will have an expiration date of May 2022 or later.
A written summary of the state’s plan can be found in this
FAQ document for school administrators. I also want to call your attention to a several key points:
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There is no statewide testing mandate for students returning to school. While some schools may have local testing policies for students, the state is not requiring a documented negative test to return to the classroom.
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These tests are intended for students only, not school employees. Schools interested in testing programs for employees should review CDPH’s school testing resources webpage to review the various options.
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There is no cost to schools or families for these at-home test kits. CDPH purchased the kits with funds provided by the federal government to support testing in schools.
The SDCOE Communications team has created a
template letter in English and Spanish to share information about at-home COVID-19 testing with families. We have also crafted a
template letter in English and Spanish for employees. Finally, CDPH has issued a
communications toolkit with flyers and other resources for schools’ use in publicizing at-home COVID-19 testing.
This is a fluid situation that continues to evolve. We will share additional information and resources as they become available. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need additional assistance in the meantime.
Sincerely,
Paul
Dr. Paul Gothold
San Diego County Superintendent of Schools
phone: 858-295-6641
