BSD is implementing the voluntary Vermont Agency of Education antigen Test to Stay (TTS) program.
TTS is used when unvaccinated students are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19 while they were in school. The intention of TTS is to allow students who would otherwise be required to quarantine to remain in school; keeping in mind that vaccinated individuals who are close contacts are not required to quarantine.
TTS is only for students who are not fully vaccinated and who are: (1) asymptomatic, and; (2) identified as close contacts of a positive case that they encountered at school. It replaces the need for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals to quarantine and miss school days, however, students who are not fully vaccinated are still expected to quarantine at home, including in the evening and on the weekends.
How can my student participate in the Test to Stay program?
In order for your student to participate in the Test to Stay program, please complete these two forms:
- Test to Stay Consent Form – parent/guardian consent for student participation
- SimpleReport – reports the results of testing to parents/guardians
How does the Test to Stay program work?
If you have consented for your student to participate in the Test to Stay program, you will receive a notification from your student’s school if they have been identified as a close contact of a positive case.
In most cases, TTS will start that same day or the next morning, with your student receiving a rapid antigen test at their school. Students will be given a rapid antigen test in the school building. It takes 15 minutes for us to get the results
- If your student tests negative, they may remain at school and participate in school-sponsored activities that only involve students from your school.
- If your student tests positive, they will be considered positive for COVID-19 and will need to enter a period of isolation for 10 days.
Daily antigen testing will continue on school days for seven days after the last exposure; if “Day 7” falls on a day when school is closed, we will test students the first day back as their last test. (This does not apply to long “breaks” of school when a PCR test would come back first.) If your student develops symptoms at any point, inform the school, seek a PCR test right away, and keep your student at home and away from others.
Your student will not be tested on the weekends, but needs to remain in quarantine, meaning they should not participate in other activities, go to the grocery store, or spend time with friends and others outside of their household. It is important to note that this Test to Stay program is only for attendance at school or on-campus school-sponsored activities. Any unvaccinated student identified as a close contact is expected to quarantine for all other activities, aside from medical appointments, for a total of 14 days with the option to test out of quarantine with a negative PCR test result on or after day 7 from last exposure. While participating in Test to Stay, close contacts take rapid antigen tests for a total of 7 school days, and if negative all 7 days may leave quarantine. Test to Stay participants may not attend school activities that involve students from other schools, such as sports or scholastic competitions.
If at any point your student develops symptoms:
- Do not send your student to school and keep your child home.
- Call your student’s health care provider or make an appointment through the Vermont Department of Health to schedule a PCR test.
- If your student is having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to the hospital.
- If your student doesn’t have a provider, call 2-1-1 to be connected to a clinic in your area.
- People with mild illness can treat their symptoms at home: help your student get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take fever-reducing medication if needed.
