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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From a White Plains CitizeNetReporter. September 3, 2020.

The following is an official communication from the United Federation of Teachers, the New York teachers union on Covid-19 testing procedures under which the union has agreed it will proceed with returning to New York City schools September 21:

New York City will make COVID-19 testing readily available for all its residents, including children, at over 200 locations across all five boroughs. NYCDOE encourages all its students and school-based staff to get tested within seven days of reporting to buildings and at regular intervals throughout the remainder of this crisis. In order to support testing, New York City will prioritize testing for NYCDOE students and staff and rapid communication of test results at any of its 34 city-run testing locations. 

Once in-person learning has commenced, the NYC DOE will implement the Random Sample Survey of COVID-19 in Schools, a robust program of repeated random sampling and COVID-19 testing of adults and students present in DOE schools.

• Obtain written parental /guardian consent for students to be tested in school from every possible student/parent at the beginning of the school year and continuously throughout the school year, including consent to have results shared with NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Test & Trace Corps, and Department of Education as necessary. Parents will be informed that, as testing is performed throughout the year, if parental/guardian refuses to provide consent for a student who has been selected randomly for testing, the student will be moved to the remote learning cohort.
• Obtain consent from teachers and staff to have results shared with NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Test & Trace Corps, and Department of Education as necessary.
• Establish mandatory time every month at each school dedicated to conducting the Random Sample Survey of COVID-19 in Schools beginning October 1.  The percentage of individuals to be tested will be determined by the number of students enrolled in the school who have opted into blended learning in order to create a statistically significant sample size
  • 20% of the individuals in schools with fewer than 500 students
  • 15% of the individuals in schools with 500 to 999 students
  • 10% of the individuals in schools with 1000+ students
    • Test and Trace Corps and DOHMH will utilize a sampling technique based on standard protocols, in consultation with outside experts. 
    • All UFT titles will be required to participate in the Random Sample Survey of COVID-19 in Schools program. In the unlikely event a UFT member is selected for random testing and refuses, they will go on unpaid leave.
    • Other school staff will also be asked and are expected to participate in the Random Sample Survey of COVID-19 in Schools program.
• Specimen collection will be conducted or supervised by appropriate personnel from City agencies, outside organizations, and/or outside contractor nurse support.
  • Each school’s need for testing support will be evaluated based on the number of students and teachers that must be tested
  • Self-collection kits for COVID-19 PCR testing will be an option, but other testing methods will be evaluated and considered for potential use as they become available.
  • Test and Trace Corps and DOHMH will provide kits to each school each month to collect specimens and will work with DOE to collect specimens on site in each school each month (or, in certain circumstances, at an appropriately designated off-school site or at home as necessary).
• Students and staff are required to report any positive test result, either taken independently or through this random COVID-19 testing program, to the DOE
• There will be a weekly meeting of all stakeholders to review the implementation of the Random Sample Survey of COVID-19 in Schools program and resolve any issues that arise in the process.

Early Warning Signs

The health and safety of students and staff are of the utmost priority when considering reopening schools. In order for school buildings to reopen and stay open, the percentage of positive tests in New York City must be less than 3% using a 7-day rolling average. School buildings will need to close and revert to fully remote learning for all students if the percentage of positive tests in New York City is equal to or more than 3% using a 7-day rolling average. It is important to note that the above threshold is just one trigger for closing school buildings, but may not be the only trigger. For example, a decision to close all of the school buildings in the City would be made if there were recurrent, uncontrolled outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools, even if the overall case rates across New York City were to remain low.  Likewise, a decision to close individual schools would be made where there were multiple cases of COVID-19 identified (see “School Closures”).

If any zip code within NYC reports a percentage of positive tests of 3% or higher using a 7-day rolling average, the city will deploy additional testing efforts within the community, including, but not limited to, increased testing of individuals in schools, opening new testing sites, door-to-door canvassing and targeted robocalls. The closure of school buildings within these communities, if necessary, will continue to be governed by the “School Closures” policy set forth herein.