Schools Look for Guidance in Wake of New Policy on Quarantining Students

Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma State Department of Health unleashed a new policy on how schools quarantine students potentially exposed to COVID-19.

On Jan. 12, Stitt held a conference announcing that the mandatory two-week quarantine period no longer had to be done for students who had been potentially exposed to COVID-19 so long as the school is following safety protocols and the student(s) shows no symptoms.

Stitt alongside Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye spoke about the importance of getting students back into schools as well as stating that schools have proven to be one of the safest places for most students.

“We need to put our students first, and we need to get them back in class,” Stitt said. “Refusing to offer inperson school is jeopardizing our kids' education, it’s jeopardizing teachers' careers; and it’s jeopardizing the future of the State of Oklahoma.

Watonga Superintendent Mark Batt said that the announcement of Stitt’s decision was kind of sprung on everybody.

“We really don’t know what all is happening. Everyone’s kind of backpedaling to see how it all affects us,” Batt said.

Batt said that most students who have been quarantined throughout the year, fortunately, did not end up testing positive for COVID. Those who did test positive, however, were not too sick, Batt said.

At the moment Batt said the district is waiting to hear more information from the Oklahoma State Department of Health; however, Watonga Schools have been and will continue to follow CDC recommendations on quarantining student, he added.

Geary Superintendent Todd Glasgow echoed this sentiment, saying that Geary Schools would continue to do what it has been doing and follow CDC guidelines to keep students safe.

“We'll keep doing what we can to be safe and to keep trying to educate our kids as best as we can,” Glasgow said. “Cases here have been super low… If you're social distancing as much as you can, you're doing your temperature checks, you're wearing your mask, washing your hands, have hand sanitizer available, and teachers and students are all making a conscious effort to be safe, you can make it work.”

Both Geary and Watonga Schools will continually look for clarification from the State Department of Health and the State Superintendent for guidance in assessing how to best handle the potential changes. For now, both have said they will continue to follow guidelines put out by the CDC.

This move by Stitt seems to have surprised many educators across the state, including the State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister with her office saying it was unaware of Stitt’s plan and not asked for input.

Hofmeister disagrees with Stitt’s decision.

"The governor, nor myself, are public health experts. We need to rely on those tested recommendations and not veer from them, especially at a time where we have such heightened spread and surging daily positivity rates that are stressing our hospitals. That is not the time to drop safeguards or experiment."