20 days in Quarantine.... oh My

Boise Schools District Parent Story from Early December:

"My son is now home for the SECOND TIME on a ten day quarantine, this time because of a head cold…..sneezing and runny nose. The school nurse said that this decision was because he had two or more symptoms. According to this illness decision tree, he only has one of the listed symptoms but apparently the community transmission (since, according to the new color category, we are still in "red" transmission-- see more info below) is a determining factor?!?! This is the reason parents are giving their kids medicine and sending them to school sick. I don't have anything in writing from my school nurse since this information was relayed to me over the phone. She was quite irritated when I told her that, as of today, we were not interested in testing but would ultimately leave it up to my son to decide…..his body his choice. She was awfully proud of the kids being masked up and sending anyone home with the slightest of symptoms. "

Comments on the color categories:

If CDH was still using the old color categories, Ada County would be in the yellow category by now (678 cases reported the week of Nov 14, which is just four over the old yellow limit of 674) and would be following normal illness procedure. But, since CDH adopted CDC transmission levels in late-July, roughly 2/3 of what used to be considered "yellow/moderate" transmission is now "orange/substantial" or "red/high". That means that Boise School District is using more strict illness policy currently than they were in late February of last school year even though many more people now have been vaccinated and/or have natural immunity.

Is this REALLY about safety?

Do you think Boise School District is fulfilling District Policy 1126: Board Code of Ethics "Keep students as the top priority" by denying students access to in-person education through such strict quarantine policies? It's simple, isn't it? Sick kids stay home, healthy kids go to school.

Please tell those making the decisions on behalf of families and staff what you think about this and subscribe to our mailing list:

Boise School District

Trustees@boiseschools.org; coby.dennis@boiseschools.org; lisa.roberts@boiseschools.org; Brian.Walker@boiseschools.org; Becca.Anderson@boiseschools.org; Teri.Thaemert@boiseschools.org; Debbie.Donovan@boiseschools.org; Tamara.Fredrickson@boiseschools.org

Central District Health:

boh@cdh.idaho.gov; gina.pannell@cdh.idaho.gov; rduke@cdh.idah.gov; vodell@cdh.idaho.gov

Hospitals:

patientrelations@slhs.org; information@primaryhealth.com; bohswebmaster@stalphonsus.org