CHOP’s back-to-school COVID guidelines loosen for the 2022-23 year, but look heavily to county health departments
Less masking, distancing, and testing are part of the new guidelines. But vaccines remain important.
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Citing rising population immunity and the value of fewer disruptions to in-person classroom time, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and its PolicyLab research group released their recommendations encouraging a “less stringent approach” to COVID-19 mitigation for the coming school year.
The guidelines, endorsed by hospital clinical leadership, defer heavily to local health departments but broadly suggest that without other instruction, schools no longer need to require masking, weekly testing, social distancing, or student cohorts. The CHOP guidance also advises that students and staff complete at least the primary round of COVID vaccinations.
“Our recommendations encourage a less stringent approach to school-based COVID-19 mitigation, recognizing that widespread population immunity against severe disease supports optimizing in-person classroom time and participation in extracurricular activities, and for our early childhood settings, minimizing attendance disruptions that were so prevalent over the last couple of years,” the group said in a statement.
» READ MORE: Philly kids are still suffering COVID’s consequences, from mental health to childcare
At the same time, health departments will likely begin to treat COVID-19 as they would the flu, recommending sick people stay home and isolate until their symptoms improve, the group said, and noting that communities may again expect an uptick in COVID cases as winter approaches.
The CHOP guidelines recommend:
Less mandated masking: “Unless required by health departments, schools no longer need to enact masking requirements within school settings,” PolicyLab said. During higher levels of community transmission, school leaders should still communicate updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for indoor masking. And during COVID outbreaks inside schools or classrooms, the group also recommended school leaders ask students and staff to do a weeklong “mask sprint” to limit transmission. As of this week, around 97% of the nation’s 500 largest school districts no longer are implementing mask requirements, according to Burbio, a platform that tracks mask mandates.
Voluntary testing: Weekly testing is “no longer a necessary routine practice in school settings,” the CHOP group said. However, it recommended schools consider offering voluntary on-site testing for students and staff, noting that the option for those at a higher health risk or who may be in contact with someone at a higher health risk “can relieve anxiety and guide responsive decision-making around preventative treatment.”
Vaccination: “Students and staff should complete at least the primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations given the strong protection they provide against severe infections,” CHOP said. “We would encourage schools and early childhood programs to inform staff and student families of recommendations for COVID-19 booster vaccinations.”
Staying home if sick: Students staying home to recuperate from illness — particularly those with a cough, muscle aches, and fever — is “the strongest mitigation practice for reducing school outbreaks of any season illness,” the group said. Students should remain home until fever-free for 24 hours and until symptoms are improving, CHOP said, noting that schools should also defer to local health department guidelines on isolation periods.
Quarantine rules depend on your local health department: For asymptomatic students and staff who have been exposed to COVID, school quarantine procedures should align with that of their local health department, CHOP said. In regions where quarantine is no longer required by the health department, asymptomatic individuals may remain in school, the group said. In regions where a quarantine period is required, schools may need to implement a “mask-to-stay” program, where anyone who may have been exposed to someone with COVID should wear a mask for at least five days while in school and participating in extracurricular events. Schools no longer have to test exposed students and staff, as long as they remain symptom-free, CHOP said. Children who are unable to mask and who are asymptomatic should not be prohibited from going to school, CHOP said.
Less social distancing: Social distancing and creating small student and staff cohorts are no longer necessary strategies, CHOP said, “given the reduction in severe infection across communities, availability of vaccinations that prevent severe infections broadly across the population, and a lower risk of severe disease overall in children.”
In case of an outbreak: If a large outbreak occurs, CHOP recommends informing families, students, and staff. That communication can then lead to decisions around masking, the group said. Voluntary outbreak testing can also help to quickly identify those who are positive and may isolate at home, CHOP said.
But, the CHOP group noted, “public health guidance will likely vary greatly from community to community, with some health departments enacting targeted recommendations to protect high-risk individuals and others choosing to retain broader mitigation strategies.”
Around the Philadelphia region, many districts and health departments are still finalizing their plans for the year.
» READ MORE: 'It's got to get better:' A look inside the challenging, complicated year at one Philly elementary school
Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health
In Philadelphia, the health department’s guidance hasn’t changed much since the end of the last school year, a spokesperson said, which saw a strong recommendation to wear a mask in all indoor settings, mask-to-stay and test-to-stay guides, and recommendations to test unvaccinated indoor athletes.
On Friday, the district announced that staff and students must mask for the first 10 days of the 2022-23 school year, but that masks will then be optional as long as case numbers do not surge. The staff vaccination mandate remains in place.
Last year, many Philly educators criticized CHOP’s loosened quarantine lengths and testing protocol recommendations, saying its schools’ building conditions weren’t taken into consideration.
» READ MORE: Philly schools are going mask optional, but kids, staff must mask for the first 10 days of class
Montgomery County Health Department
Referencing the CDC’s updated guidelines, the Montgomery County Health Department has dropped its “test-to-stay” and quarantining recommendations, and loosened masking requirements.
» READ MORE: CDC drops quarantine, distancing recommendations for COVID
Delaware County Health Departments
The Delaware County Health Department is expected to release updated recommendations later this month, following guidance from the CDC and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Chester County Health Department
Chester County’s Health Department has said it, too, plans to follow the CDC’s recommendations released in May. CNN reported last week that the agency may soon ease its guidelines for schools, including removing a recommendation that students exposed to COVID take a test to remain in class.
» READ MORE: Some suburban Philly school districts are changing their mask rules — again
Bucks County Health Department
The Bucks County Health Department, meanwhile, recommended in May that “all school entities return to normal operations” for the 2022-23 school year, with COVID “handled similarly to other conditions in existing school nursing policies.” In a letter sent to school superintendents, Bucks County Health Department Director David Damsker recommended that if a student has “resolving symptoms” and has been fever-free for 24 hours, they may return to school, and that asymptomatic students, regardless of exposure, should not be sent home. Bucks students and staff should have the option to wear masks, and that in most situations, exposure notifications in schools and classrooms will not be necessary, Damsker wrote.
New Jersey Department of Health
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Aug. 15 lifted the mandate that teachers and school workers must undergo routine COVID testing, although schools can still maintain their own vaccination or testing policies. The administration is reviewing other COVID-related protocols and procedures for the coming year.
This story has been updated to reflect the Philadelphia School District’s new protocols as well as New Jersey’s decision to lift COVID-testing requirements and Montgomery County Health Department’s newest recommendations.