This NC school district could become the first to require teachers get vaccinated
Orange County Schools is moving ahead on a plan to require teachers and school employees to get vaccinated, although a plan to test all employees for COVID-19 infections is getting off to a slow start.
The district will begin testing substitute teachers and bus drivers this week, and by mid-September, unvaccinated students who are participating in sports and some other extracurricular activities will have to undergo twice weekly testing.
On Monday night, the school board pushed district administrators to start a 30-day vaccination clock for teachers and staff — a move that was contingent on the Food and Drug Administration giving full approval to one of the COVID vaccines currently in use. The Pfizer vaccine got that approval Monday. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines do not yet have full approval.
The district will give all employees until Sept. 23 to be vaccinated against COVID-19, spokeswoman Melany Stowe said in an email Tuesday night.
At least 76 teachers and staff members already have reported their vaccination status. The rest will be required to report their status by providing a vaccination card starting Wednesday through Sept. 10. Those who are remain unvaccinated after Sept. 23 and do not get a medical or religious exemption from the district will not be able to work for the district, officials have said.
Orange County is the first school district in North Carolina actively planning to require employees be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the district is working to add tents where students can eat and learn outdoors, and to recruit more teachers and staff.
New hires can earn $6,000 to $10,000 recruitment bonuses for certain positions if they agree to work in the district for two years. Newly hired nurses could earn up to $12,000 over two years of employment.
Parent Laura Streitfeld questioned the board Monday, saying some parents were worried after not seeing anyone tested or asked about their vaccination status before the first day of school Monday. The board approved vaccination and testing plans on Aug. 16.
Parents “need accurate and transparent data,” because the delta variant is more contagious and early detection is important, Streitfeld said. She also pushed for an outdoor lunch for students and staff, who on Monday, removed their masks and ate indoors, some with little social distancing.
Students and athletics officials also were seen in the last week playing sports without masks, she said.
“And while I applaud you all for pursuing the opportunity to have kids in other structures, those discussions were going on last year, and it feels rather late to be just catching up with policies to keep children and teachers safe by eating together outdoors rather than indoors.”
The district posted on its website Tuesday that public concerns about compliance with school health and safety measures can be directed to a school’s principal, emailed to covid.hotline@orange.k12.nc.us, or left anonymously at 919-245-4150, ext. 13333.
Vacancies, online and in-person enrollment
District staff rolled out multiple health and safety updates Monday and presented data about the new school year.
OCS Online Academy, which closed its enrollment at 182 spots on Aug. 1, now has 172 students and is adding new students to a waitlist. Meanwhile, the district has 215 more students overall than on the first day of the 2020-21 school year, for 7,222 students districtwide.
Staff also noted roughly 32 teacher, support staff and administrative vacancies, along with a need for 93 substitute teachers and a number of substitute bus drivers.
The district will continue to update the board and the district’s COVID-19 data online. There is no plan to post information about individual schools, sports teams or extracurricular groups
COVID-19 testing requirements
▪ Stowe did not respond to a question about when teachers and other district employees could be tested in her email Tuesday night.
▪ Unvaccinated students, age 12 and older, who are in sports, cheerleading, band, chorus or theater could start COVID-19 testing twice a week between Sept. 7 and Sept. 15. Students will need a parent’s permission to be tested, but untested and unvaccinated students will not be allowed to participate.
▪ Students who participate in those activities for a class or to receive grades are exempt from testing. Students who are involved in non-competitive activities, such as clubs, or don’t travel for competitions also may be exempt.
▪ Students under 12, who are ineligible for vaccination, must be tested to participate in sports, cheerleading, chorus, marching band or theater.
▪ Unvaccinated coaches and staff involved in those activities, and unvaccinated students who are participating in off-season athletic workouts, conditioning drills, camps, practices, scrimmages and competitions, also would be subject to those testing requirements.
When to wear a mask
▪ All students and employees must wear masks indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccine status. Schools in Durham, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and Wake, Johnston, Orange and Chatham counties also are requiring masks.
▪ Students under 12 must wear masks during outdoor sports, in addition to getting tested for COVID-19.
▪ Student athletes 12 and older can participate outdoors without masks, but must wear them while on the sidelines or when traveling on school-sponsored transportation
If there’s a COVID-19 case or a cluster
Each school nurse will work with the Orange County Health Department if a student or staff case or a cluster — defined as five or more cases — breaks out. The district reported this week that four students and two staff members have tested positive for COVID since July 15.
The district also outlined these steps Monday:
▪ Individual student cases: Teachers will post instructional materials to Canvas for sixth- through 12th-graders or to Google Classroom for K-5 students. Students will be asked to log on daily at class time via Zoom, Google Meet or the Polycam system unless they are too sick. Classes will be asynchronous, except for check-in sessions, and specialized services will be offered to the extent possible.
▪ Individual teacher cases: Teachers will continue to provide classes as normal for students but connect remotely if they are not too sick. Teachers may have a substitute to help monitor an in-person class or or co-teach with an in-person coach or facilitator.
▪ Quarantining classes: If there is a cluster in a class and the students are quarantined, the curriculum will move online. Teachers who are not quarantined will continue to teach from the classroom.
▪ School outbreak: If a school is closed for an outbreak, students will move online with teachers remaining in person unless they also are quarantined. Students will have daily synchronous instruction, with options for independent, asynchronous learning.
Volunteers, parents, travel restrictions
▪ Volunteers may also be asked to meet vaccination and/or testing requirements.
▪ Schools will limit visitors to parents and others with appointments. The district is encouraging parents to seek virtual meetings with teachers and school employees.
▪ Travel restrictions include employee travel for out-of-state, work-related events, and could be expanded to include in-state work events and school field trips outside of Orange County, including for athletics and other extracurricular activities.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 10:38 AM with the headline "This NC school district could become the first to require teachers get vaccinated."
CORRECTION: This story published online and in print Wednesday incorrectly stated the recruitment bonus that the Orange County Schools district is offering to newly hired nurses. The nurses are eligible for a bonus worth up to $12,000 if they work two years in the district schools.
