Return-to-School Plan for Infectious Illness Mitigation

Stay home for five full days when the following situations occur, and then wear a well-fitting mask for five more days when around others:

• You have symptoms of COVID-19 but you have not been tested, unless a doctor provides a note, with an alternate date you can return to work or school.
• You have a confirmed-positive case of COVID-19, but no symptoms or have mild symptoms. You have a confirmed positive case of COVID-19, even if you have no symptoms or the symptoms are mild. You may only return after five full days if symptoms have improved and you've been fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication.
• You were exposed to a known positive case of COVID-19 in the previous 10 days, and you are choosing to quarantine based on Georgia Department of Public Health guidance and vaccination status.
• You are waiting for COVID-19 test results.

You may return on Day 6 if symptoms have resolved and you have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication.

Remember: Your Day One of isolation or quarantine is the day after symptoms begin or the day after exposure to a confirmed-positive COVID-19 case outside of school. You have the choice to isolate or quarantine at home for 10 full days instead. If you do, please notify your school.

Children who had a severe to critical illness (if hospitalized for shortness of breath, pneumonia, low oxygen levels, respiratory failure, septic shock and/or multiple organ failure or who are severely immunocompromised) may return to school only after all of the following:

• at least 20 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
• at least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever reducing medications.
• symptoms have improved.

Report your COVID-19 case or COVID-related absences online. You no longer need to call your school or school nurse. Using the online tool is preferred, but if you do not have access to internet, you may call your school: 

When should I submit a COVID-19 absence report?

• You have tested positive for COVID-19.
• You choose to quarantine for 5 to 10 days due to a known close contact with a positive case of COVID-19
• You have COVID-19 symptoms after close contact to a known COVID-positive case, and you will isolate for 5 to 10 days

Families may follow the Department of Public Health's guidance of five full days of isolation or quarantine in these instances, or they may choose for their child to remain home for up to 10 days. Please contact your school if you choose the 10-day option. 

Use this online tool to report COVID-19-related absences .

School Nurses Will Monitor General Student Health At School: 

The school district has a team of 17 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. They encourage good health practices that include handwashing, respiratory hygiene and to stay home when sick. They assist students who become sick at school in the following ways:

• Conduct in-depth health history and note past medical conditions and current medications.
• Complete a thorough assessment using health protocols. Based on the documented symptoms and professional judgement, the school nurse will do the following:
  • Place student in a monitored isolation area.
  • Contact the parent or guardian to pick up the infectious child from school.
  • Ask parents or guardians to keep the child at home until the end of their isolation period unless a physician note to return is provided.
  • Encourage parent or guardian to see a physician for diagnosis and evaluation.
• For children who present in the school nurse's clinic with COVID-like symptoms, the school nurse will complete an evidence-based health assessment to determine if the child's symptoms meet the criteria to isolate at home. ^{(*Symptoms include fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit with symptoms of illness or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit without presenting symptoms such as chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache (usually severe), sore throat, new onset of cough, congestion, runny nose, muscle or body aches, fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or new loss of taste or smell.)}

We will contact you:

• Parents and employees: Please report confirmed-positive COVID-19 cases to us.  The preferred method to report these is online or by using the QR code on the Bulloch County Schools Infectious Illness Guide Flyer. If you do not have the ability to report them electronically, you may also call your school.
• We send out messages each weeknight at 6:30 p.m. The message will state the earliest date the student may return to school.
• As of 8 p.m. on Friday, January 21, Bulloch County Schools ​discontinued its efforts to contact trace close contact exposures to COVID-19 positive cases in its schools and offices. 
• Bulloch County Schools does not conduct COVID-19 testing, nor do we receive testing results from medical providers.
• Bulloch County Schools is unable to control the time it takes to process COVID-19 tests or receive positive reports.
• For the time period a child is isolated or quarantined, the school district provides distance learning parents and guardians the opportunity to order free weekly meals online for pick up.

Mask Wearing:

• Masks are encouraged, but not required in schools or on buses.

• Bulloch County Schools has exercised the opportunity provided by the Department of Public Health guidelines to allow students who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID case at school to remain at school and not quarantine as long as they remain asymptomatic.  

• If your child was a close contact to a known COVID-19 positive case at school, it is strongly encouraged for them to wear a mask for at least 10 days when around others.

• In the High Spread level of the school district's Return-to-School plan, masks are encouraged, signage encouraging masks is placed in all schools, and for those who do not have a mask of their own, the schools will provide one by request.

Vaccinations: There are certain vaccines that are required by the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the State of Georgia. Your local physician or the Bulloch County Health Department can provide you with these immunizations and the required Georgia Certificate of Immunization Form 3231 for school attendance. 

At this time the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Georgia Department of Public Health do not require adults or children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for public health, nor for school attendance. For this reason, Bulloch County Schools will not require its employees or students to receive the vaccine.  

Persons age 12 and older who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, can contact their primary physician or local pharmacy, or review this list of locations in Bulloch County who provide the vaccine.

Persons who are up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations do not have to be quarantined due to exposure to a confirmed positive case unless they become symptomatic.

Parents do not have to provide proof of their child’s COVID-19 vaccine to attend school or for contact tracing for exposures inside or outside of school. Due to the Federal Educational Rights & Privacy Act and an Executive Order by the governor of the State of Georgia, school district employees may not ask if an adult or child has received the COVID-19 vaccine, nor can the school district require documentation that a person has received the vaccine.  School nurses, as medical professionals, are authorized users of the State of Georgia’s Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services, and they can access this information as a tool for COVID-19 quarantine management for those exposed outside the school environment who are not vaccinated.

Report of COVID-19 Cases 

• The school district will notify the Department of Public Health immediately when a positive case is identified in the school.
• School nurses will provide a weekly COVID-19 report to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
• Bulloch County Schools will provide a weekly report of COVID cases on our website, so that it is readily available to the public and news media.