Tennessee law leaves few options for schools to respond to omicron surge - WCYB
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The omicron variant is driving a surge in COVID-19 cases in our region just as schools return from the winter break, but a new Tennessee law ties the hands of school leaders by banning mask mandates and contact tracing.
Johnson City schools successfully turned around the delta wave among their students. They say it was with a combination of mask mandates and a close role in quarantining exposed students. But now, Tennessee law bans both.
“What kind of COVID-19 precautions are in place this semester?” News 5’s Caleb Perhne asked nursing supervisor Jennifer Norton.
“The new legislation that came out in December, we can no longer enforce,” Norton said. “so it does kind of alter our authority on those protocols, but we do continue to support any parents, any families, faculty who do want to continue with masking.”
Schools are still providing masks, hand sanitizer and arranging classes to reduce the number of people kids are exposed to, but when it comes to taking precautions, schools can only give advice.
It’s up to parents and students to protect each other.
“If a parent has a child in a classroom where someone else has gotten COVID-19, will they be notified?” Caleb asked Norton.
“If the health department has notified them,” she answered. “Many times, our families take it upon themselves to notify.”
In Kingsport, schools didn’t require masks or contact trace even before the new law. Instead, they’re focused on cleaning and providing tests to those who want one.
“Can you make someone who is positive go home?” Caleb asked assistant superintendent Andy True.
“We provide the information about what the CDC guidance is,” True said. “We encourage families to consult with their health care provider, with the health department.”
Johnson City schools are still sending kids home who have a fever, whether it’s COVID-19 or not, and many students and teachers still choose to mask.
The one big difference from last semester is vaccines are now available for all school kids.
“If you go back last year, we didn’t have that, so that’s been a huge game changer this year,” Norton said.
The state law banning mask mandates and contact tracing in schools has been paused, at least temporarily, by a state judge. Local school leaders said they weren’t aware of the pending lawsuit related to the rights of kids with medical conditions.
source: https://wcyb.com/news/local/tennessee-law-leaves-few-options-for-schools-to-respond-to-omicron-surge
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