Elmbrook​ Endorses School-Based Quarantine Waiver

BROOKFIELD, WI— The School District of Elmbrook is endorsing the practice of a school-based quarantine waiver.

The Waukesha County Public Health Department amended its quarantine guidelines for a school-based, close-contact exposure to a positive COVID-19 case on Thursday.

If the identified close contact is wearing a mask while exposed to a positive case during the school day or at a school-sponsored activity and is asymptomatic (symptom-free), the student or staff member will not be required to quarantine at all.

A letter from the district was sent to parents.

The district, in response, will endorse the practice of a school-based quarantine waiver, with the following understanding.

• This quarantine waiver only applies to close contact exposures at school, on the bus traveling to or from school, or at school-sponsored extracurricular activities. This does not apply to household exposures or exposures that occur outside of school, such as youth club sports.
• The student or staff member identified as a close contact must have been wearing a mask during the time of exposure.
• The student or staff member identified as a close contact must be symptom-free, and must remain symptom-free for a full 14 days following the exposure. Any onset of symptoms during this time will require a full 14-day quarantine.
• Families and staff members still have the option to quarantine for up to 14 days after exposure.

"Throughout this school year we have prioritized student and staff safety, continuity of learning, and evidence-based decisions. This recommendation from the Waukesha County Public Health Department was partially based on very low evidence (less than 1%) of disease spread in classrooms where students are masked in schools across the County," the district said.

The district supports this approach for the following reasons:

• It supports the research that prioritizes masking and social distancing as two primary mitigation strategies to minimize the spread of the disease. The District will continue to require masks of all students and staff for the remainder of the school year.
• It prioritizes continuity of learning, allowing symptom-free close contacts to remain in school.
• It uses local data collected from all county schools to inform a change in practice.

Any student who is currently under quarantine from a school-based close contact exposure and has remained asymptomatic should contact their school’s health room to discuss their return to school, the district said.