Fountain Hills Unified School District rolled out its updated Safe Return to School Plan (SRSP) last week and began operating under the guidelines therein.

The SRSP outlines the guidelines and procedures local schools will follow concerning COVID-19 diagnosis, quarantine, safety precautions and the like. The plan is available to view at fountainhillsschools.org by highlighting the “Resources” tab and selecting “2021-2022 Return to School Plan.”

The SRSP has received quite a bit of attention in recent weeks, with local parents voicing their concerns during the open call to the public at FHUSD Governing Board meetings.

Those comments revolved mostly around concerns about loss of athletics and education due to quarantine. Several expressed a desire to see guidelines that would no longer require students who are not exhibiting symptoms to stay home, even if they were in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID. Another common request was to let parents make the decision and monitor their children in the event a child comes into contact with someone who has tested positive.

Superintendent Kelly Glass announced the updated plan in a districtwide email sent out on Monday, Sept. 13. A copy of the plan, as well as a streamlined fact sheet, was included in the email.

One of the big changes from previous versions of the SRSP is that the district will now only quarantine students who present with symptoms, have a positive COVID test or have a family member that receives a positive COVID test, eliminating close proximity quarantines.

The SRSP states that, “Parents will receive a letter indicating close contact with other students/staff identified with COVID-19 and a request to monitor your child’s symptoms and keep them home should they present with any of the symptoms above.”

The SRSP outlines when a child should stay home and for how long in the event of exposure or a positive test.

Daily health checks have been reinstated as a compromise to help ensure students are not coming to school sick, something that has been a recurring issue at FHUSD sites this year and resulted in dozens of students being quarantined due to close contact.

The SRSP reiterates the fact that all cases will be reported as required by law, and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health Administration will determine if an outbreak has occurred and direct FHUSD on a course of action, potentially resulting in additional quarantines or the temporary closure of a school site.

The accompanying fact sheet includes a plea for parents to keep their children home if they are ill, especially if they are demonstrating any of the symptoms related to COVID-19. Those symptoms are also outlined for convenience, alongside quarantine guidelines in the event of symptoms or a positive test.

One of the arguments frequently brought up during recent School Board meetings was that parents should be trusted to check on their own student’s health and not send them to school sick. It was noted at the Sept. 8 meeting that the most recent issue was tied to a student who came to school while waiting for the results of an eventual positive COVID-19 test. This type of situation, according to Superintendent Glass’ email, has been the primary driver with student quarantines so far this school year.

“Over the past week, we had seven new cases of COVID,” Glass said. “In almost every case from last week, the student attended school even though they were ill when they arrived.

“Please do not send your child to school if they are sick with any illness. For us to keep our schools open, we must have students stay home when they are ill. This prevents the spread of a variety of illnesses, but especially of COVID.”

And while masks are not a requirement this school year, Glass went on to stress their usefulness in preventing the spread of illness.

“…Please consider having your child wear a mask while at school,” she said. “This is another layer of protection for your child as well as the other children and our staff.

“We are struggling to get substitutes for our classrooms. Keeping your child home when ill and encouraging mask wearing will keep our teachers providing valuable instruction to our children.”