If your child becomes sick with possible COVID-19 symptoms at school, they may be offered a COVID-19 test, in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Please download and return the consent form. It must be completed for your child to get a COVID-19 test. A negative COVID-19 test OR 10 days of quarantine at home is required for your child to return to school. 

COVID-19 Test for Children Who Become Sick at School 

When would my child be tested at school? Children will be tested if they show COVID-19-like symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath. View information on COVID-19 symptoms and when to stay at home.

Will I be called before a test happens? Children who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms will need to be picked up from school AND also meet the criteria for a COVID-19 test. If you have completed a consent form before this event, the School Nurse will call your current phone number in our records and attempt to speak with you before performing the test, however, with a completed consent form, the test can be done even if the parent/guardian is unable to be reached. If you have not completed a consent form before coming to pick up your child, you can complete one upon arrival at the school.

What if my child won’t sit still for the test? COVID-19 tests will not be done if a student refuses the test or cannot sit still for the test. In those cases, the School Nurse will refer the student to Nationwide Children’s Hospital or the student’s primary care provider for a COVID-19 test.

What is the COVID-19 test like? The COVID-19 test is a swab (like a long Q-tip) that goes up the nose for a count of 10. Again, if students are unable or unwilling to cooperate with the test, the School Nurse will refer the student to Nationwide Children’s Hospital or the student’s primary care provider for a COVID-19 test.

What happens after a positive test? You will be called with results by the school nurse and the Nationwide Children’s School Health nurse practitioner. Guidance will be given over the phone regarding quarantine and if further services are needed. 

What happens if my child’s test is negative? You will be called by the school nurse with the results and be given guidance on when your child can return to school. If your child is showing COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) outside of school, they should stay at home and not go to school. 

What to do if your child is showing COVID-19 symptoms outside of school

To schedule them for a COVID-19 test: 

• Call your primary care provider first or 
• Call the Nationwide Children’s COVID-19 Testing Line, available 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. during the week and 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends at (614) 722-2787 to schedule an appointment to get tested at the drive-thru testing site. You must have an appointment to receive a test. 

That information is available right here.

The updated quarantine guidance does NOT apply to after-school activities, including sports. To minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission, student-athletes should wait until 14 days of symptom monitoring have passed since they would not be able to social distance or wear a mask during active practice or play. Such student-athletes ARE permitted to return to class sooner since they can social distance (at least six feet) and wear a mask when around others in class.

Yes, staff and students must wear masks when they are on the bus or in a school building, per the Governor’s order. Masks are our first layer of protection in keeping people safe.

We understand masks may not be medically possible for all students. Please view our mask exemption policy by clicking here.

Please view our mask exemption policy by clicking here.

Yes, our second layer of protection after masks is hand washing. We will be sure that all students and staff wash their hands and sanitize many times during the school day. Sanitizer will be available in all buildings and classrooms.

We know that COVID-19 is transmitted by droplets which is why safety guidelines require six feet of distance be maintained in our school buildings, classrooms, hallways, and during bus transport. We will have many opportunities to help your child understand that. We will have signs, posters, and reminders on doors, walls, and floors. The school nurse will be proactively educating and reminding people to remain six feet apart.

We also encourage our CCS families to use proper respiratory etiquette--coughing and sneezing into your elbow and then sanitize after. If you use a tissue, sanitize or wash your hands after.

We have designated a health separation room in each building for any adult or student who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms and cannot immediately leave the building. The person will be required to wear their mask at all times while in the health separation room. 

READ: Student and Staff COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Protocol

The parent or guardian will be notified to pick up their child immediately. CCS requests the sick student be picked up within 30 minutes. If the parent or guardian is unable to pick up the student immediately, CCS asks that the parent arrange for a back-up so the child can be picked up within 30 minutes. Please arrange several alternative ways for an adult to pick up your student should he or she feel ill during the school day. Students with COVID-19 symptoms cannot ride home on the bus.

The School Nurse or staff member will complete the surveillance tracking process and notify the parent that the child must be isolated. That means the student must stay home for 10 days AND be 24 hours fever-free without medication and improvement of symptoms OR provide a health care provider documentation of a confirmed diagnosis other than COVID-19 to return earlier. If sickness is not COVID related, CCS will follow our current healthcare processes.

The School Nurse at your students' school is the point person to help you through this process in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. The School Nurse will know how to help you if you have questions and how to help you get in contact with health care providers. 

When the district returns to in-person learning, families must notify the school if their student tests positive for COVID-19. The School Nurse will notify Columbus Public Health and conduct contact tracing within the school building to determine possible exposure and inform individuals who have been exposed accordingly. The school will notify parents of students within the same classroom, bus ride, or school activity that there is a student with a positive test, as well as the school building as a whole. The student’s name or other identifying information will remain confidential and will not be released. School Nurses will determine if the student can return to school following the Columbus Public Health protocol of isolation and quarantine.

The school will notify, in writing, parents/guardians of students within the same classroom, bus ride, or school activity that there is a student with a positive test and will notify parents of the whole building through the Parent Portal messenger, parent email, text message, and phone call.

Yes, CCS has created an online COVID-19 Data Dashboard that shows the number of positive COVID-19 cases that have been reported to CCS and are associated with in-person learning or activities. The dashboard will be updated weekly with newly reported cases.