Those wishing to change Lakeland Union High School’s quarantine policy for STAR Academy will have to wait until Monday, Oct. 26 to learn the school board’s decision. The charter school largely serves students on the autism spectrum.
The governance council, which oversees the high school charter school, asked the board in special session Monday, Oct. 19 to modify the district’s quarantine policy to better suit STAR students who come in contact with a COVID-19-infected person.
In such cases, the district’s policy requires quarantine for 14 days unless the student has a positive test result, and it has been 10 days since the positive test result. The student also has to be fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication.
The governance council is developing its own COVID-19 policy, subject to the board of education’s approval. “Under the alternative protocol, certain students would not be required to quarantine at home for 14 days but could return to the classroom (and) have additional monitoring and safety protocols in place,” said District Administrator Rob Way.
“I think the parents and the staff all agreed that we have to figure some sort of plan out to keep healthy kids in the classroom,” said Gregg Walker, the council president. “We’re losing all the gains that we’ve made with so many of the students.”
The council picked up support from Dr. Jeff Clark, of Marshfield Clinic, who advises the council and the district in such matters.
“Many STAR student have advanced needs which require in-person services,” he wrote in a letter read by Way. “Their days at STAR represent a unique time in their lives, in terms of access to intensive services and their state of relative neuroplasticity. Many of these students will have their future level of independence largely impacted by how much ground they can cover before graduating. Prolonged lapses in these services mean students will fall behind in academic, social and emotional skill attainment.”
In crafting the STAR Academy-specific policy, the district nurse and charter school staff considered preventative measures, such as a contact student not being able to take part in group activities or enter the high school, to determine whether or not the person needs to quarantine.
Board members were sympathetic to the council’s request, but legal liability issues loomed large in their minds. The district’s legal firm warned of increased liability risk if the district deviates from guidelines recommended by state and county health agencies. Way said lawsuits could be filed against not only the district, but also the administration and the board itself if they were found at fault.
Business manager Gregg Kopp said the district’s insurance carrier could refuse to handle a workman’s compensation claim or tort, if the district did not follow recommendations from the state Department of Health and the Oneida County Health Department. Health department Director Linda Conlon opposes changing the current protocol, according to Way.
Way was unaware of any school district adopting a COVID protocol different from Lakeland’s current policy. In addition, he said, Clark opposes changing the current protocol at the high school.
It was suggested that perhaps staff and parents at STAR Academy could sign liability waivers to hold the district harmless if someone comes down with the virus at the charter school. Walker said he would be “surprised” if a parent would refuse to do so.
The board decided to toss the issue back to its legal firm to review again, centering on whether waivers would hold up against a claim. The matter will be brought up at the upcoming board meeting on Monday.
In a related action, the board voted to keep the current quarantine policy unchanged at the high school.
