Logansport Community School Corporation COVID-19 Mask Update
It has been 20 days since the opening of the 2021-2022 school year. When comparing the first 20 days of this year to those of the 2020-2021 school year, we have seen an increase in the impact that COVID-19 has had on our students and staff. In the first 20 days of the 2020 - 2021 school year, we had a total of 178 individuals either quarantined or isolated due to being in close contact with a positive case of COVID-19. Also during that period, there were 6 persons who tested positive for the virus. In the same time period for this year, there have been 901 individuals either quarantined or isolated and 48 individuals who have tested positive. As you can see, these numbers are significantly higher than where we were at this point last year.
On September 1st, Governor Holcomb signed a new executive order directed at K-12 school corporations that went into effect on September 2nd. The order requires school districts to follow the state statutes that mandate that schools report positive cases, complete contact tracing, and adhere to the quarantine guidelines established by the CDC and Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). It also states that School Boards may implement restrictions and measures that are more restrictive than the guidelines, but Boards may not implement anything that is less restrictive than the CDC and ISDH guidelines.
In order to lessen the impact that the virus is having on our school corporation, and comply with the Governor's executive order the Logansport School Board is mandating the following guidelines for wearing masks:
1. All students are required to wear a mask while riding an LCSC bus.
2. All students in grades PK-12 will be required to wear a mask at all times while in a school building with the following exceptions:
a. During times of strenuous exercise such as physical education.
b. During extracurricular sports when the athlete is participating in competition.
c. During meal times.
d. Outdoor recesses shall be times when masks are optional.
e. The student has a physician's release from wearing a mask.
f. A case conference committee has determined a child’s disability is such that the student is unable to wear a mask.
3. The school will have masks available at the school’s main office.
The mask mandate will be in effect beginning September 7, 2021, and remain in effect until it can safely be removed. The corporation will continue to track the number of quarantines/isolations and after September 30, reevaluate the need for a mask mandate.
Information on Quarantine / Isolation
Last year the CDC guidelines for quarantining required that individuals who were within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19, for a total of 15 minutes in a single day, be quarantined. This criterion applied regardless of mask use by the person with COVID or close contact. As studies provided more information on how the virus is transmitted, the quarantine guidelines have changed.
Students who are a close contact to a positive case will not be quarantined if one of the following criteria is met:
- The student has been fully vaccinated.
- The student and the positive case are both appropriately wearing a mask at the time of the close contact to the positive case. Or,
- The student has had a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
If the above criteria is not met, the student will be required to quarantine. Parents can work with their school’s nurse to determine the length of the quarantine.
Close contacts to a positive case, who begin to show symptoms of having COVID-19, should isolate for 10 days. Parents can work with their school’s nurse in determining a return to school date.