Several area school superintendents are asking the state for more freedom to expand in-person learning. Three superintendents from the area, including those in Ascension, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge parishes, are urging lawmakers to relax quarantine rules for students across the state who have been near other students who have tested positive for COVID-19. Those superintendents say a lot of students are missing out on crucial in-person classroom instruction time because they are having to quarantine at home for 14 days if they sat close to someone who caught COVID-19.
Livingston Parish Superintendent Joe Murphy said in a statement that the group of superintendents spoke to the House Health and Welfare Committee to ask for a shortening of the required 14-day quarantine period for close contact tracing in schools. He said evidence indicates that a vast majority of students and employees who are quarantined because of close contact do not develop symptoms during the quarantine period. Murphy says the process places a tremendous burden on students, parents, and ultimately, employees. He added multiple students have been quarantined more than once as a result of close contact.
A spokesperson with the Louisiana Department of Health says they’re not recommending any changes to K-12 guidance at this time, especially since the state is experiencing its third wave of COVID-19.
