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Aug. 19, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world for all of us; schools are no exception. But one area that has not changed is our commitment toward health and safety. Geneva 304 has been collaborating with our Health Services team, and our local and state health departments so that we can continue to prioritize a safe and healthy environment for our school community. This message provides some important information that we are asking all parents to review and take action on before Monday, Aug. 24, as well as answers to new FAQs.

Please carefully read the symptom-screening procedures outlined in this email. Later today, parents/guardians of ALL students enrolled in Geneva CUSD 304 will receive an automated email notification including next steps for acknowledging in Home Access Center that they have reviewed the process. This includes families of students enrolled in both In-Person Learning and Online-Only Learning. Families are asked to complete this process for each PreK-12 student before Monday, Aug. 24. Please be on the lookout for an email later today with the subject line: “Required Action Needed in HAC” and follow the steps outlined in the instructions.

In-Person Learning: Starting on the first day of school, parents/guardians of In-Person Learning students must conduct a daily symptom screening of their student at home and certify that your students are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. This responsibility includes:  
1.    Read the Student Symptom Screening Agreement provided at this link.
2.    Log into Home Access Center and complete the steps as outlined in the notification email you will receive later today.
3.    Print a student symptom screening form below to be completed and brought with your student on the first day of school. Students will also be provided with additional copies of this form to bring home. CLICK TO PRINT: Daily Student Symptom Screening - Verification Form.pdf
4.    Before your student attends school on on-site days, conduct the daily screening steps outlined in the agreement and sign the form for your student to bring to school.
5.    If your child, or anyone in your household, is experiencing any of the symptoms on the list, please have them remain home and contact their primary care physician or the Kane County Health Department. Report the absence as possibly COVID-related.

Online-Only Learning: If you are a parent/guardian of a student in the Online-Only Learning setting, we ask that you still follow the steps outlined in the email notification you receive later today, but select "Not Applicable.

Frequently Asked Questions

As this situation continues to evolve, we will remain adaptive and communicate with you as necessary. Last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health released additional answers to FAQs, which we have added to our Frequently Asked Questions page as well as provided here:  

Q. What actions should be taken by students/staff sent home with COVID-like symptoms?
Based upon the most recent CDC and IDPH guidelines, the Geneva School District has established procedures to ensure that students and staff who become sick at school or who arrive at school sick are sent home as soon as possible. Anyone who is sick will be separated from well students and staff until they can be sent home. Each school will have a designated quarantine area. Any area used by the individual who is sick will be cleaned and disinfected per the CDC and IDPH guidelines. Staff will utilize PPE outlined by the CDC for standard and transmission-based precautions. Ongoing illness and attendance communication will be occurring with school personnel.
If a student or employee tests positive for COVID-19 or is strongly suspected/presumed to have COVID-19, the District will notify the Kane County Health Department and will follow current protocols established through guidelines of the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
•    Students and staff who are confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 must complete 10 calendar days of isolation from the date of first symptom onset and be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms have improved before returning to school.
•    Students and staff returning to school after experiencing COVID-like symptoms but being diagnosed with a non-COVID illness must meet the criteria for returning to school for the illness with which they have been diagnosed. At a minimum, the individual must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and have had no diarrhea or vomiting in the previous 24 hours. A doctor’s note documenting the alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test result should accompany a student or staff member returning to school with an alternative diagnosis after experiencing COVID-like symptoms.
•    Students and staff with COVID-like symptoms who do not get tested for COVID-19 and who do not provide a healthcare provider’s note documenting an alternative diagnosis, must complete 10 calendar days of isolation from the date of first symptom onset and be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms have improved before returning to school.
•    Medical evaluation and COVID-19 diagnostic testing is strongly recommended for all persons with COVID-like symptoms.

Q. How will the District communicate if a student or staff member is confirmed as having COVID-19 or is considered a probable case?

Any person who has been in close contact* with a known or highly probable case of COVID-19 will receive notification of possible exposure and be given guidelines to contact their health care provider or the Kane County Health Department, and will likely be advised to quarantine for 14 days.

Notifications/communications will occur from the school nurse office or administrative office of the building in collaboration with the Kane County Health Department. The purpose of the communication is to advise the school community of the need for increased disease surveillance out of an abundance of caution. The District will maintain confidentiality relative to the identity of any suspected case of a student or employee to the extent possible.
*A close contact is anyone (with or without a face covering) who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (with or without a face covering), for at least 15 minutes throughout the course of a day. The period of close contact begins 2 calendar days before the onset of symptoms (for a symptomatic person) or 2 calendar days before the positive sample was obtained (for an asymptomatic person). If the case was symptomatic (e.g., coughing, sneezing), persons with briefer periods of exposure may also be considered contacts. Close contacts to a confirmed case of COVID-19 are required to remain in quarantine at home for 14 calendar days starting from the last day of contact with the confirmed case.

Q. What criteria should I use when screening my child for days when they will be learning on-site?
All parents/guardians of In-Person Learning students shall use the following self-screening list prior to entering a school bus or a school building. If your child, or anyone in your household, is experiencing any of the symptoms on the list, please have them remain home and contact their primary care physician or the Kane County Health Department. Report the absence as possibly COVID-related.  
•    Fever or chills (100.4 F or higher without the use of fever-reducing medications)
•    Cough
•    Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
•    Fatigue
•    Muscle or body aches
•    Headache
•    New loss of taste or smell
•    Sore throat
•    Congestion or runny nose
•    Nausea or vomiting
•    Diarrhea
This information also can be found on the District website at this link.  

Q. If a confirmed or probable COVID case is identified in a classroom, or on a school bus, who will be considered close contacts that need to be quarantined for 14 calendar days? Will this include the entire classroom or all the students on the bus?
Exposure in a classroom should be limited to everyone with whom the confirmed or probable COVID case had close contact, within 6 feet, for at least 15 minutes throughout the course of a day. Exposure on a bus must include everyone who sat within 6 feet of the confirmed or probable COVID case for 15 minutes or longer. A possible approach to identifying close contacts on a bus would be to include persons who sat 3 rows in front and 3 rows behind the confirmed or probable COVID case (this is why the bus routes will have seating charts).

Q. If the close contact and the COVID case were both wearing their cloth face coverings when the exposure occurred, is the close contact still required to be quarantined?
Yes. While there is strong evidence that face coverings significantly reduce the risk of infection, the likelihood for transmission cannot be ruled out.

Q. Is a physician’s note required to return to school after a ‘close contact’ to a case completes 14 calendar days in quarantine?
Persons who remain asymptomatic throughout 14 calendar days of quarantine do not need a physician’s note to return to school. During the quarantine period, a contact tracer will be closely monitoring the contact to confirm they remain asymptomatic (do not develop symptoms).

Q. What is the definition of an outbreak in schools?
The KCHD, through case investigation, will determine when an outbreak is occurring. An example might be when two confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections occur within 14 calendar days of each other in individuals in the same classroom. This is because the cases would be epidemiologically linked (known exposure to) with respect to place (same classroom) and time (within 14 calendar days). This would prompt an investigation by the health department that may result in recommendations for testing and quarantining all students/staff in the affected classroom.

Q. Will families need to complete and submit mandated physical exams, dental exams, or eye exam forms prior to the beginning of school?
Yes. Regardless of whether you select In-Person Learning or Online-Only Learning for your student(s), all students must have their school physicals, be up to date on their vaccinations, and have all dental and eye exam forms submitted by their state-required due dates. For additional information about grade-level specific health requirements, please visit the Health Services page. The state exclusion date for physical and immunization requirements is Oct. 15, 2020. Proof of an appointment will be accepted as long as the appointment is occurring prior to Oct. 15. The state due date for dental examination is May 15th of the school year.

Continued Communication

We will continue to provide information on our Frequently Asked Questions page and our Back Together 304 page. We greatly appreciate your continued patience, grace, flexibility, and support as we work toward a successful start to the upcoming school year.  

Sincerely,  
Geneva CUSD 304