Did you know if a teacher or student in your child's Charleston County School District (CCSD) classroom tests positive for COVID-19, you will not be notified by the school or CCSD if your child wasn't deemed a "close contact" with the infected individual? In fact, there's no guarantee the TEACHER in the classroom will be notified. 

We are demanding more transparency and communication regarding positive COVID-19 cases in our classrooms to help stop community spread. We are asking for EVERY parent/guardian and teacher to be alerted without giving identifiable information when there is a positive case reported in their child's classroom. 

The current notification policy on CCSD's website states: "In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in a school, CCSD will immediately begin contact tracing with DHEC to determine students and staff who had “close contact” with the positive individual. Parents will be notified by telephone and email if their child was determined to have been in close contact – requiring isolation or testing. Parent notification will NOT be initiated for any child who was determined to NOT have been in close contact with the positive individual." 

 "Close contact" means the child or staff was within 6 feet or closer to the infected individual for 15 mins or more. We know that despite teachers' best efforts and safety protocols, the infection can and will spread to individuals not deemed "close contact." Additionally, it is unrealistic for teachers to be able to recognize and remember every single student who could have potentially had "close contact." Many times TEACHERS of an infected student haven't even been deemed a "close contact." 

Charleston County School District's weak COVID-19 communication policy regarding positive cases in the classroom unnecessarily puts teachers, staff, students, and their families at risk by NOT alerting EVERY individual inside a classroom. 

The policy changes we demand once a positive case is reported to the school or CCSD: 

1. School administration notifies nursing services and the student's current teacher(s). 

2. A form letter is distributed to EACH student's parent/guardian and the teacher(s) in the classroom where the positive case is identified WITHOUT identifying the student. 

The Backstory:

• Letter sent to CCSD Board Members and the CCSD Superintendent on January 6th 2021

News Coverage: 

• North Charleston Parents Call for More Transparency After Several COVID-19 Classroom Cases Jenna Schiferl, Post & Courier
• Charleston County Parents Ask for COVID-19 Caseload Transparency in Classrooms Lillian Donahue Live 5 News
  
• Parents Upset Over COVID-19 Protocols at [CCSD] Raymond Owens Count on News 2