It takes all of us working together to maintain safe and healthy schools. Here are some helpful resources for parents to guide you through COVID-related situations at MCS schools and support sites.

Before coming to school each day staff, students, and parents/guardians should screen themselves for symptoms of illness: 

• COVID 19 Testing - When should I test

• Daily Symptom Checklist – English 

• Daily Symptom Checklist – Spanish 

• California Dept. of Public Health – COVID-19 Symptoms and Risks Questions & Answers

If symptoms of COVID-19 are noted, please stay at home and contact your physician.

Modesto City Schools is required to follow the guidance provided by state and county public health officials. The guidance schools must adhere to during the school day also applies to all extracurricular activities that are operated or supervised by schools, and all activities, whether or not they occur during school hours, including, but not limited to, sports, band, chorus, and clubs. For more on this topic, visit COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2023-24 School Year. The COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2023-24 School Year was updated by the CDPH for the 2023-24 school year as of August 28, 2023.

See the documents linked below for the most up-to-date information and guidance:

• COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2023-24 School Year: This guidance is intended to support safe, in-person learning and care in K-12 schools, child care, and related settings by mitigating the spread of communicable diseases. 

  The guidance builds upon a multi-layer strategy used to manage COVID-19 and serves as a general prevention framework to reduce the spread of multiple types of infections, including COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus.  Strategies are guided by the principle that safe, in-person learning, and care are critical to the well-being and development of children. This is provided by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

• All CDPH Guidance Documents by Topic: Find important state guidance on activities related to COVID-19 arranged by topic. These documents are updated regularly by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

• All CDPH Guidance Documents by Topic in alternate languages. This link can connect you to the same state guidance on activities related to COVID-19 arranged by topic information in more than 10 other languages provided by the CDPH. These documents are updated regularly by the CDPH.

• Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (Public Health) Coronavirus guidances and information

Note: The below Q&A is no longer in effect and is for historical purposes only.

• Frequently Asked Questions around K-12 Testing Framework for 2022-23 School Year

• K-12 Schools Guidance 2021-2022 Questions & Answers (covers mask requirements, quarantine guidance, and information on school-based extracurricular activities):

  • Why does the K-12 guidance require masks to be worn indoors? (Refer to #2)

  • How does Quarantine work?  (Refer to #7)

  • What is modified quarantine and who qualifies for it? (Refer to #8)

  • How does this impact school-based extracurricular activities and sports? (Refer to #16 under “Safety Measures for K-12 Schools.”

The MCS COVID-19 Safety Plan was updated August 1, 2023. 

• Modesto City Schools 2023-2024 School Year COVID Safety Plan for In-Person Instruction

  
  

Will I be notified if my student was exposed to a COVID-positive individual?

Yes. Modesto City Schools provides prompt notification, instructions, and options to parents/guardians of students identified as close contacts to a COVID positive case in a classroom, on a school site, or in a school-related activity. Per the CDC and CDPH, "Close Contact" means the following: In indoor spaces of 400,000 or fewer cubic feet per floor (such as classrooms, homes, clinic waiting rooms, airplanes, etc.), close contact is defined as sharing the same indoor airspace  for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during a confirmed case's infectious period. In large indoor spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor (such as some gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms (MPR), open-floor-plan offices, warehouses, large retail stores, manufacturing, or food processing facilities), close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the confirmed case's infectious period.

If you do not hear from your student’s school, it means your student was not identified as a close contact. If you have any questions about a situation on campus pertaining to COVID-19 or health and safety protocols, please contact your school site directly.

How will I be notified?

School sites will alert you by a phone call, an email, or through Parent Square to alert you of the close contact exposure. The alert will include information on the last date of exposure, and it will provide detailed instructions and options that you have for your student. These options may include information on quarantine, possible return-to-school options under a modified quarantine, and information on COVID testing your student. It is very important to listen to these messages completely due to the important information that is included. Home COVID-19 test kits are available at all school sites and the District Health Office, 500 Locust, 7:30 - 3:30 Monday - Friday.

Only those persons who have tested or been identified as positive for COVID-19 are required to quarantine for the 5-day period following the positive COVID-19 result or the first day of symptoms. Persons who have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive person are strongly encouraged to test 3-5 days after the date of exposure. Employees, per OSHA Guidelines, are required to test 3-5 days after the date of exposure. See the Isolation/Quarantine Guidance used by our schools (updated August 7, 2023):

• Isolation/Quarantine Guidance- Stanislaus County HSA – English

• Isolation/Quarantine Guidance- Stanislaus County HSA – Spanish to be added soon

MCS COVID-19 Testing Program for Students and Return to School guidelines: 

In coordination with CDPH, Stanislaus County HSA, and Stanislaus County Office of Education, Modesto City Schools provides home COVID-19 antigen test kits free of charge to students upon request from parents/guardians. These test kits are available at the home school site and at the District Health Services office, 500 Locust St., Modesto, 7:30 - 3:30 Monday - Friday.

• COVID 19 Testing - When should I test

If a student has tested positive for COVID-19, per CDPH guidelines, the student may return to school 5 days after their positive COVID-19 test or 5 days after the first day of symptoms if: they have improving symptoms AND are fever free without fever reducing medications, such as acetaminophen, for 24-hours. A negative COVID-19 antigen test is not required for return, but is strongly recommended. Returning students are strongly recommended to wear a mask for the entire 10-day period from onset of symptoms or the positive COVID-19 test, whichever is first.

Stanislaus County Health Services Agency COVID-19 Testing Options:

COVID-19 testing is free through the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (Public Health) (How to Get Tested). Visit the SCHSA website for more information and to schedule an appointment: Stanislaus County Health Services Agency Website – Testing

COVID-19 Vaccination Options:

COVID-19 vaccinations are free from the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency. Visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call (833) 422-4255 to make an appointment. You may also visit the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency website for vaccination clinic locations and hours of operation.

MCS Verification of Student COVID-19 Vaccination Status:

Students are not required to have been vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend school. If your student has received the COVID-19 vaccination and/or boosters, please feel free to provide the site nurse with the card as proof. The vaccination status can be added to their school health record.

The guidance schools must adhere to during the school day also applies to all extracurricular activities that are operated or supervised by schools, and all activities, whether or not they occur during school hours, including, but not limited to, sports, band, chorus, and clubs. For more on this topic, visit COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2023-24 School Year. The COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2023-24 School Year was updated by the CDPH for the 2023-24 school year as of August 28, 2023.