Printable Version of Guidelines

2021-2022 SDOC Guidelines for COVID-19

These guidelines are subject to change at any point in response to changes in the COVID-19 pandemic or legislative action.  

Date Updated: 3/1/2022

Masks

• Masks are not required in any school building or on buses

Employees & Students who are symptomatic

Any employee or student who has symptoms of COVID-19 MUST remain at home and not go into any SDOC buildings until one of the following is accomplished:

• A five-day quarantine with symptoms resolved

•  A negative COVID-19 test result

•  A statement on letterhead or prescription pad stating the student/employee has a diagnosis other than COVID-19 and my return to school.

•  A positive antibody test within 14 days

*Note:  The administration team will be made aware of any employee not complying with this guideline.

ISOLATION

• For anyone testing POSITIVE for COVID-19, the isolation period has been reduced from 10 days to 5 days, if there are no symptoms or symptoms have improved. DHEC recommends masks to be worn during days 6 through 10 when they return to school and normal activities.

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Example Calculation of Isolation Days

Onset of symptoms: 12/31/2021

May return to school: 01/06/2022   (with no symptoms or improved symptoms)

Mask worn at school or school activities: 01/06/2022 through 01/10/2022 (per DHEC and SC Department of Education)

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• A parent note confirming that symptoms have improved and there has been no fever in the past 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication must be provided by the student. 

• If you still have symptoms after isolating for five days, stay home until you feel better.  Make sure you notify your school nurse.

Contact Tracing

School nurses will notify their principal once a class or cohort has 5 POSITIVE cases within 5 days with those cases having been in the building or around their cohort during the infectious period.  The principal/school nurse will then contact Sherry McLaughlin and a decision will be made as to whether the cohort is quarantined (or not), at that time. Quarantine decisions for medically fragile classes will be made on a case-by-case basis.

 

QUARANTINE

In order to exempt quarantine, you must provide one of the following:

• Proof of a positive COVID-19 result within 90-days of being exposed.

•  Proof of completed COVID-19 vaccination series (as recommended by DHEC).

• Proof of positive antibodies collected within the prior 14 days of being exposed.

“Fully Vaccinated” DHEC (as of 1/3/2022)  -  individual who has completed their primary series, and ideally have had a booster shot if eligible 

If an individual is unable or chooses not to provide one of the above exemptions:

Quarantine can end after Day 5 if a viral test is negative AND if no symptoms were reported during daily symptom monitoring.

• The viral test must be collected no sooner than Day 4, and quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than completion of Day 5.

• A mask should be worn through day 10 per DHEC & SC Department of Education.

SDOC EMPLOYEES

There are contingency options specifically for workers in essential fields when there are staffing shortages. Exposed workers who have not received the vaccine, including a booster when eligible may wear a mask for 10 days if quarantine is not feasible.

Household Contacts

If a student is a household contact to a positive COVID-19 case, and cannot separate from the positive case, the student must quarantine  for 10 days.  However, the student can test at day 10 and return to school with a negative test result.

If  a student can separate from the COVID-19 case, the student can test at day 5 and return with a negative test result.

At-Home Testing

SDOC will not accept any testing result from an At-Home testing kit. We will accept rapid and PCR tests from a professional business/facility where those giving the test and interpreting the test results have been trained by professional staff.

International Travel

Travel should be delayed until you are fully vaccinated. You are not fully vaccinated until the following criteria has been met:

• 2 weeks after your second dose in a 2-dose series, such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or

• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

KNOW YOUR TRAVEL RISK

If you have a condition or are taking medication that weakens your immune system, you may NOT be fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. Talk to your primary provider as you may need to continue taking all precautions.

During Travel:

• Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports, and stations.  Travelers are not required to wear a mask in outdoor areas of a conveyance (such as open decks of a ferry or the uncovered top deck of a bus).

• Avoid crowds and stay at least 6 feet from anyone who is not traveling with you.

• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

After travel:

It is BEST PRACTICE to get COVID-19 tested 3-5 days after travel and stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.  Travel regulations state you must have a negative COVID-19 test result before returning to the United States.  The School District of Oconee County will allow you to return to school with this negative COVID-19 test result.

You MUST complete the following:

• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days.

• Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days.

• Isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.

COVID-19 Instruction & ExpectationS GUIDance

Students in quarantine due to contact tracing or in isolation due to a positive result, unless sickness prevents it, are expected to participate in virtual instruction (distance learning) during their time away from school. The following information is to help students, families, and teachers navigate instruction and learning expectations during this time.

Students should make every effort to stay current with assignments and learning experiences during their quarantine situation.  For those students with extenuating circumstances,  such as being too sick to complete work or no internet access,  work must be completed within 10 days of their return.  

School Buses fall under the January 2021 CDC  order requiring masks on all forms of public transportation.   On August 26, 2021, The SC Department of Education announced that they would begin enforcing the CDC order in response to a significant increase in cases and high community spread rates. A revised memo released on August 27, 2021  included the following information:

"To facilitate adherence to the CDC Order, the SCDE will equip all state-owned school buses with an adequate supply of face coverings that meet CDC Order requirements. If a student boards a bus without a face covering, bus drivers should offer the student a face covering. School districts shall implement disciplinary measures designed to enforce this requirement, including, but not limited to suspending a student from riding a bus. However, no student should be placed in an unsafe situation as a result of attempting to board a bus without a face covering."

SC Department of Education Face Covering on Buses Memo

As a district, we will begin assigning disciplinary consequences for students who choose to not wear a mask beginning Tuesday, September 7, 2021. The consequences for not wearing a mask will be:

1st time:  Students will receive a warning

2nd time: A phone call will be made to the parent to explain the
situation and consequences of further refusal

3rd time:  Student will be suspended from the bus for one day.

Each additional refusal will result in an increase in the number of days the student is suspended from the bus.  It is possible with repeated refusal to wear a mask may result in suspension from the bus for the remainder of the school year. 

For an individual to be considered fully vaccinated, a minimum of 2 weeks must have past since receiving the final vaccine dose. 

Moderna or Pfizer:  an individual must be 2 weeks past the second dose of vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson:   an individual must must be 2 weeks past the single dose of vaccine.

You QUARANTINE when you might have been exposed to the virus. You should stay home and monitor for symptoms and social distance when around people.

You ISOLATE when you have been infected with the virus, even if you don’t have symptoms. You should stay away from others even in your home. 

SDOC Students & Staff Drive-thru Testing

Monday - Friday        8:00am to 2:00pm
BOuntyland Education Campus
100 Vocational Drive, Seneca

IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS:

Employees/students/parents/guardians should enter the Bountyland Education campus from South Cove Road (Do not enter from Keowee School Road). Take the first left into Bountyland Education Campus (old Hamilton Career Center).   Testing will occur in front of the first breezeway.  Cars will exit onto Keowee School Road.This will facilitate a one-way line for testing and help avoid traffic issues. 

• Testing is for SDOC staff and students only (substitutes & volunteer coaches are eligible).

• The PCR test specimen will be collected through a nasal swab.

• Results should be received within 24 hours; some results may take longer.

• There is NO COST to the student or staff member.

• Students and Staff may choose to be tested as frequently as they desire.

 

There are many places within the community to get tested for COVID-19.  Many medical practices as well as pharmacies have testing options.  The following provide free testing to the community:

DHEC-Tour Health - Oconee County Health Department 
Open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

609 N Townville St   Seneca, SC 29678
Please pre-register using the link:  https://www.tourhealth.com

Pre-Registration Strongly Recommended but Not Required. Wait times at all sites vary and patients are seen in the order that they arrive. Pre-registration will help to reduce your wait time at the site.

Appointment Needed: No
Referral Needed: No
Pediatric Testing Available: Yes - All ages

 

Clemson Community COVID-19 Testing
Monday - Friday 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Nettles Park, 102 Nettles Park Road, Pendleton, SC 29670

Prior to arriving at the community-testing site, you must register and obtain a COVID-19 testing QR code.  To do this, visit this link:   Clemson  Community COVID Testing

When you arrive at the testing site, you will be required to present the QR Code you obtained from registration.  Please have your QR Code ready on your phone or printed for scanning prior to arriving to the test site.

Note: The QR code you obtain from your initial COVID-19 testing registration may be used as many times in the future as needed without re-registering.

• Make sure you have had nothing to eat or drink 30 minutes prior to testing.
• This COVID-19 test type is Saliva PCR (not rapid antigen).  You should receive your test results via text and email within 24 to 30 hours of your test.

 

 

This plan describes how the Local Education Agency (LEA)  or district will provide the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services for all schools, including those that have already returned to in-person instruction. This report template complies with all reporting requirements of the ARP Act (Public Law 117-2), the ESSER III grant terms, conditions, and assurances (CFDA Number 84.425U), and the interim final rule established by the U.S. Department of Education, 86 FR 21195.

SDOC Safe Return to In Person Instruction Plan

This plan describes how the SDOC will use funds that it is awarded under the ARP ESSER program. This report template complies with all reporting requirements of the ARP Act (Public Law 117-2), the ARP ESSER grant terms, conditions, and assurances (CFDA Number 84.425U), and the interim final rule established by the U.S. Department of Education, 86 FR 21195.

SDOC ESSER Plan

SDOC ESSER Spending Plan