Dear Superintendents,
I am writing with several updates since my last message.
Frequently Asked Questions about Vaccine Verification and Testing Requirements
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) has created a
frequently asked questions webpage about vaccine verification and testing requirements for workers in schools. The webpage outlines what the order requires of local educational agencies and workers, and details vaccine verification and testing requirements. The document also lists questions SDCOE has submitted to the California Department of Public Health for clarification, which include:
- Does the order requiring K-12 education workers to be vaccinated or test weekly apply to:
- The employees of the YMCA and other entities who provide before- and after-school programs on school campuses?
- Employees of a TK-12 district/school who work in preschool programs operated by the district/school?
- Licensed child care providers who provide their programs on a school campus before or after school?
- Employees of the school or district who do not work on a school campus?
- Employees who are assigned to remote work?
- Substitute employees who provide occasional work on a campus?
- Are employees and volunteers at independent study charter schools that operate "home study" programs (where students aren't on campus) considered “home school”?
SDCOE’s legal counsel is also reviewing several topics:
- Can a school restrict volunteer opportunities on campus to fully vaccinated parents and community members?
- Must local educational agencies allow unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated employees release time to get tested?
- Can workers be tested through their health care provider? If so, are local educational agencies required to provide reimbursement?
We will update the FAQ and share answers when additional information is available.
SDCOE Developing PeopleSoft Solution for Vaccination Verification
SDCOE’s Integrated Technology Services team is working to implement functionality within the PeopleSoft system to allow employees to upload proof of vaccination, and to allow local educational agencies (LEAs) to quickly and easily pull reports regarding vaccination status for the purposes of developing a weekly COVID-19 testing regimen. Completing this vaccination verification through PeopleSoft will help LEAs comply with the
California public health order that requires schools to verify that all workers are fully vaccinated or tested at least weekly.
Detailed information will be shared with human resources administrators and chief technology officers next week.
COVID-19 Decision Tree Updated
The
COVID-19 Decision Tree has been updated. We have also added a summary of updates to the
decision tree webpage to facilitate school staff’s understanding of recent changes. This week, changes to the document include adding the phone number for county public health; clarifying details on exposure and symptom timelines; and adding a new question branch to clarify that a fully vaccinated person who is a symptomatic close contact can return to school or work if they have a negative molecular test, if their symptoms are improving and 24 hours have passed with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.
Thank you for all that you do. As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Paul
Dr. Paul Gothold
San Diego County Superintendent of Schools
phone: 858-295-6641
