COVID Quarantine Policy
HPISD follows the five-day quarantine period recommended by the latest CDC guidelines. Students and/or staff with a COVID diagnosis (or exposure to COVID) will need to remain home from school for five days. They may return after five days provided the student of staff member is asymptomatic or has a significant reduction in symptoms. Students who return to campus after the five-day period will be asked to wear a mask for five days after returning to school, in accordance with CDC guidelines, but will not be required to do so.
Any student diagnosed with COVID or exposed to a positive COVID case in the same household will need to remain home from school and athletics/activities for five days from the onset of symptoms or the date of the positive test. Students who test positive are not required to provide a negative test in order to return to school as long as they have fulfilled a five day quarantine and are asymptomatic. Parents of students who test positive will need to complete the MIS/HPMS COVID-19 Reporting Form. Your student's COVID campus learning coordinator will be in touch regarding make-up work. Students who are experiencing minor symptoms should log into Google classroom to complete classwork. Please contact your campus nurse prior to return to school to ensure your student has met re-entry requirements.
Household family members who are exposed will also need to remain home for five days. Family members may continue to attend school if they are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated against COVID within the last two weeks to six months. Previous COVID infections do not exempt anyone from the required five day quarantine. Proof of vaccination is required if siblings wish to remain in school. Siblings of positive students are not required to provide a negative test to return to campus once their quarantine period ends, provided they have remained asymptomatic.
Students who are experiencing symptoms will be sent home by the nurse and will not be permitted to return to school until the student produces a negative test result or quarantines for the five-day period. HPISD will accept positive and negative rapid test results in addition to positive and negative PCR test results, but will not accept negative home-test results.
If your student is awaiting COVID test results, they should remain at home pending test results. Students who are asymptomatic and are testing solely for travel purposes may remain at school.
The following symptoms are associated with the Omicron variant:
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Congestion or runny nose
- Sore throat
- Muscle or body aches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Fever or chills
According to the CDC, vaccines remain the best public health measure to prevent severe illness, hospitalizations and death. According to UT-Southwestern, the majority of patients admitted to the hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth are unvaccinated. In addition to the vaccine, which is available to all Texans over the age of 5, regular hand-washing is encouraged to prevent the spread of illness.