COVID-19 Alternate In-Person School Attendance Overview

Fighting COVID-19 Together

Introducing the Alternate In-Person School Attendance Strategy

The Livingston County Health Department has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Health (NIH), University of Massachusetts, and CareEvolution, in order to offer Livingston County public and private school students the opportunity to enroll in an alternate school attendance strategy for the 2021-2022 school year.

Schools are not required to participate in the Alternate In-Person School Attendance Strategy. Schools must opt into the Alternate In-Person School Attendance Strategy for their students to participate.

What is Alternate In-Person School Attendance?

The Livingston County Health Department explored the use of at-home COVID testing as part of the Alternate In-Person School Attendance Strategy in order to:

Limit testing burden on the schools, as schools voiced challenges with performing school-based testing in the 2020-2021 school year.
Allow students the opportunity to remain in in-person learning and limit lost educational time.
Understand transmission between students in the educational setting in order to inform infection prevention decision making in the schools.

How does Alternate In-Person School Attendance work?

If your child has been exposed to COVID-19 at school, you will be contacted by Livingston County Health Department (LCHD) via SMS or email. Students will have the following 2 options to choose from:

Option 1: Standard School Exclusion

Under Standard School Exclusion, it is recommended that your student stay for the duration of their exclusion period.

It is recommended that your student stay home for 10 days.

The student may return after day 10 if they have not had any symptoms during those 10 days. It is recommended that the student continue to monitor for symptoms for a total of 14 days following the exposure.
Some schools are allowing students to return to class sooner with a negative test result. The student may return on day eight if they receive a negative test (provider-administered PCR or antigen) on day six or seven and do not have symptoms. It is recommended that they continue to monitor for symptoms for a total of 14 days following the exposure. At-home test results are not accepted for this option. Contact your school to see if this is an option for your student.

Option 2: Alternate In-Person School Attendance

The Alternate In-Person School Attendance Strategy allows exposed students to attend school and continue with in-person learning. The following are required as a part of participating in Alternate In-Person School Attendance:

	Your student must wear a properly fitting mask in school and while participating in all school-related activities.
	Every day during the alternate attendance period, you will receive email and SMS messages with a link to check-in.
	Each check-in, you must perform a daily symptom screening for your student. If symptoms arise, it is recommended the student isolate immediately.
	You must perform daily free at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen testing with your student, using at-home test kits provided by your student's school. These tests take only 15 minutes to perform. If your student tests positive, it is recommended the student isolate immediately.
	You will pick up the first test kit from a location designated by your school district. The remaining additional test kits will be mailed to you.
	Your student can participate in all other school-related activities, throughout the alternate attendance period.

Questions?

At-Home Testing

About the At-Home Test

Get your COVID-19 test results privately at home in just 15 minutes.

These test kits are:

Comfortable

They only require a quick swab inside each nostril.

Fast

Rapid results in 15 minutes.

Trusted

Quidel, the test maker, also made the first rapid flu tests used by doctors in the US.

Want to help more?

In addition to the Alternate In-Person School Attendance program, adults and children may be eligible for the "Stop COVID-19" research study to assist in keeping your community safe and healthy.

Learn About the Study

A cooperative effort from state and local health departments, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and community partners.