Lakeville Area Schools no longer requires students and adults to wear face coverings when riding a school bus or on other district-provided transportation. Students and staff may choose to wear a face covering at any time. Students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms, a positive test, or returning from quarantine/isolation are required to continue to wear a face covering per the District’s quarantine/isolation guidelines.

On Friday, Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed its requirements for wearing face coverings on school buses or vans operated by school districts. The CDC made this change to align with updated guidance for schools that no longer recommends universal indoor mask wearing in K-12 schools and early childhood settings in areas with low or medium COVID community transmission. Dakota County and Scott County are both considered areas with low transmission per the CDC’s dashboard. 

The District adjusted its pandemic safety plan to make face coverings recommended and not required for all students, staff and families inside schools and other district facilities earlier this month.

Updated February 26, 2022

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Face coverings are recommended but not required district-wide. This includes Early Childhood through grade 12.

• Face coverings are recommended but not required for all staff, students and families in Early Childhood through Grade 12 and district facilities and on district provided transportation.
• KN95 face masks are available for students and staff at district buildings by request, while supplies last.
• Symptomatic people will be required to wear a face covering and will be isolated while waiting to go home or visiting the nurse.
• Face coverings are strongly recommended by MDH for anyone who is unvaccinated.
• Students and staff returning to school and work from isolation or quarantine are required to wear face coverings on the school bus and at school for an additional 5 days as detailed by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). (see District’s Quarantine/Isolation Flowchart).

It is important to understand that the decision on whether to wear or not wear face coverings at school are individual choices that parents, students, and staff will make for themselves. Whatever decisions members of our school community make, we urge students, staff and families to respect each other and not engage in any sort of bullying, harassment or confrontation.

*The District will continue to review the latest COVID data and this guidance is subject to change. Review the COVID-19 Dashboard above for the current case rate threshold.

Every Minnesotan ages 5 years and older can now get vaccinated. Visit the MDH website to learn more about the most current information about COVID-19 vaccine programs, locations and appointment availability. 

Dakota County has released appointments for ages 5-11 for the Pfizer vaccination series for COVID-19. To sign up your child visit the Dakota County vaccine website. 

While the COVID-19 vaccination or proof of vaccination is not a requirement for students or staff, the CDC and MDH recommend people 5+ get vaccinated. 

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations for children please visit the COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Teens page through the state. 

Booster shots are now available for school staff as well as adults ages 65+ and other certain at-risk individuals 18+ that previously completed their primary series with Pfizer or Moderna at least 6 months ago. MDH also recommends all Minnesotans ages 18+ who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster shot at least 2 months after their first dose. If you are eligible for a shot or need more information learn more here.

Updated Nov. 5, 2021

Health officials urge all Minnesotans to take steps to protect our communities and schools. Here are some mitigation steps you can take at home and in your community to help prevent or slow the spread of COVID-19, making our schools and community healthier and safer.

• All students, staff, visitors and facility users are required to conduct a daily self screening before coming to school/work.
• Students and staff are required to stay home if they are ill, and leave school/work if they become sick during the day.
• All families are required to continue to report illness to their school’s attendance line and stay home if their child is ill, tests positive for COVID-19, has COVID-like symptoms, lives with someone in the household who has COVID-like symptoms or who tests positive. Staff are required to continue to report illness to their Supervisor.
• It is highly recommended to have your student be tested for COVID-19 3-5 days from the onset of the household member's symptoms or known exposure (regardless of vaccination status). Testing is available through the District. Please contact your school building nurse for more information (see details in "COVID-19 Testing"  tab below).

Lakeville Area Schools has aligned its COVID-19 procedures for students with the latest isolation and quarantine guidelines announced by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The updated guidance shortens the timelines for isolating and quarantining.

In general, the shorter timeline for quarantine and isolation is five days rather than ten. Families and their students can refer to this visual flowchart for isolation and quarantine to see the timelines to follow if they are positive for COVID-19 or are exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 in their household. 

The District will still require students and staff returning to school or work following isolation/quarantine to wear a face covering day 6 through day 10 as noted on the flowchart above, no matter the District's face covering status.

In the case of isolation or quarantine, it is important that families notify the school’s attendance office as soon as possible.  If you have any questions about isolation, quarantine, or when your student can return to school after isolating or quarantining, please contact your school nurse.

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Here is a more detailed summary of the updated isolation and quarantine updates for students:

Isolation (5 Days)

Who: Students who test Positive for COVID-19

Students who test positive for COVID-19 should *isolate for 5 days. If they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (which means the student is without a fever for 24 hours without the use of medication and feels well) they may return to school after 5 days of isolation, but must wear a well-fitting facemask (face covering) to minimize the risk of infecting others for the next 5 days while at school, no matter the district’s face covering status. Students/staff cannot leave isolation early, even with a negative test.

Isolation keeps someone who is sick or tested positive for COVID-19 without symptoms away from others, even in their own home. (ref: CDC)

*Students who are medically exempt or unable to wear a mask or face covering will need to isolate for 10 days rather than returning after five days. This is out of an abundance of caution because a student who is unable to mask for the required five additional days while at school may contribute to the transmission rate. This includes infants under age two, students in special education who cannot tolerate face coverings, and students who have medical face covering exemptions.

CLICK HERE: Calculate Your Return Date From Isolation

RESOURCES: 

• Visual Isolation and Quarantine Flowchart for Students/Families (English)
• Diagrama de flujo de aislamiento visual y cuarentena para estudiantes/familias (Español)

 

When Quarantine is not Required

Who: Students who are fully vaccinated (up-to-date) and get exposed to a member of their household who gets COVID-19

Students who are exposed to someone in their household infected with COVID-19 and are fully vaccinated or have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure, but must wear a well-fitting facemask for 10 days after the exposure while at school, no matter the district’s face covering status. For students and their family members exposed, the CDC recommends everyone in the household test for COVID-19 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur or the test is positive, students should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not due to COVID-19.

*Students who are medically exempt or unable to wear a mask or face covering will need to isolate for 10 days rather than continuing to come to school after an exposure. This is out of an abundance of caution because a student who is unable to mask for the required five additional days while at school may contribute to the transmission rate. This includes infants under age two, students in special education who cannot tolerate face coverings, and students who have medical face covering exemptions.

RESOURCES: 

• Visual Isolation and Quarantine Flowchart for Students/Families (English)
• Diagrama de flujo de aislamiento visual y cuarentena para estudiantes/familias (Español)

When Quarantine is Required (5 Days)

Who: Students who are NOT vaccinated or NOT up-to-date on their vaccines and get exposed to a member of their household who gets COVID-19

Students who are exposed to someone in their household infected with COVID-19 and are unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or haven't received their booster if eligible should *quarantine for 5 days and should wear a well-fitting facemask for an additional 5 days while back at school, no matter the district’s face covering status. Students/staff cannot leave quarantine early, even with a negative test. Unvaccinated/not boosted includes situations where the student is more than six months out from their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine dose or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine. For students and their family members exposed, the CDC recommends everyone in the household test for COVID-19 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur or the test is positive, students should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not due to COVID-19. 

Quarantine keeps someone who was in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 away from others. (ref: CDC)

*Students who are medically exempt or unable to wear a mask or face covering will need to isolate for 10 days rather than returning five days after their exposure. This is out of an abundance of caution because a student who is unable to mask for the required five additional days while at school may contribute to the transmission rate. This includes infants under age two, students in special education who cannot tolerate face coverings, and students who have medical face covering exemptions.

CLICK HERE: Calculate Your Return Date From Quarantine

RESOURCES: 

• Visual Isolation and Quarantine Flowchart for Students/Families (English)
• Diagrama de flujo de aislamiento visual y cuarentena para estudiantes/familias (Español)

• Students who test positive for COVID-19 are required to stay home and isolate for 5 days.
• Those who live with someone who tests positive are required to stay home and quarantine for 5 days, unless at least one of the following is true: 
• They are fully vaccinated for COVID-19
• They have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days
• Exhibiting symptoms at school: If a student is symptomatic at school, the parent/guardian will be notified to pick up their student. The student will be required to wear a mask while waiting in the isolation area.
• Lakeville Area Schools are required to continue to monitor for Influenza-like illness and positive COVID-19 cases and report positive cases to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Free Community Testing Sites

If any student or staff is experiencing symptoms, out of school testing should be used before they come to school or participate in an extracurricular activity. Students and staff should stay home and get a test from one of the state’s free community testing sites, a local pharmacy, or through their health care provider. Families can also use the no-cost COVID-19 test at-home program to have a test mailed to them.

Free COVID-19 Tests through the Federal Government

Every home in the U.S. can order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. Orders will ship within 7-12 days. Order your tests now so your family has them when you need them. Order Free At-Home Tests 

Rapid Tests for Students who Develop Symptoms at School

With parent consent, rapid test kits are available for students who develop symptoms while at school. These kits are also available to school staff who develop symptoms while supplies last through the school building nurse. These kits may be administered by a nurse at school or sent home with students or staff.

Testing at Dakota Child and Family Clinic

Dakota Child and Family Clinic in Burnsville is able to offer limited no-cost COVID-19 testing appointments Monday - Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Schedule a testing appointment here.

Dakota Child and Family Clinic is located at:

2530 Horizon Dr.
Burnsville, MN 55337

Effective April 5, 2022 the District will be permitting classroom volunteers and classroom speakers strictly for educational purposes, including chaperoning field trips as approved by the school building principal, back into school buildings.

All volunteers and guests must follow the District’s Visitor Management System Policy and our health and safety guidelines. At this time, face coverings remain recommended but not required. Entry to buildings will be limited to scheduled volunteers and guest speakers only.

All other unscheduled visitors will not be allowed in the building during student hours or during drop-off and pick-up times at all early childhood through grade 12 buildings. Visitors will not be allowed in the building for lunch due to health, safety and capacity. With the exception of medications, all other items that need to be dropped off for students can be left in the vestibule area of each building after notifying office staff.

If COVID-19 case rates begin to dramatically increase, the district’s administration will reevaluate our procedures and make changes as necessary to ensure the safety and health of our staff, students and community. 

If you have questions about visiting a school, please contact the school’s office.

• Schools/programs will continue to promote personal hygiene best practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases.
• Cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces in schools/facilities will continue.
• The District’s COVID Response Team will continue to monitor COVID-19 school, district and community data to determine the need to adjust strategies.

• We will provide full-time, in-person learning for all students with health and safety mitigation efforts
• We will continue to provide a 1-to-1 personal learning device for every student and other technology to provide for flexible, enhanced teaching and learning and to minimize sharing materials.
• We will provide extended day programming for grades 1-8 focused on literacy, numeracy and social-emotional development
• We will provide daytime intervention support
• We will provide high school credit recovery opportunities
• We will provide expanded opportunities for early literacy elementary instruction
• When students are absent due to isolation or household quarantine due to COVID-19, teachers will support student learning utilizing the Seesaw/Schoology platform, digital learning tools and/or offline learning activities. Teachers are not required to provide a hybrid/distance learning experience via WebEx, rather meaningful learning activities will be provided that support a student who is not in class due to illness. Teachers and/or staff are asked to check-in with these students at a minimum of one time per week to ensure that students have the resources they need to be successful. Students should not be penalized for being absent due to COVID-19 isolation or family quarantine requirements.

We continue to provide a full-time virtual learning option for K-12 students through our LinK12 Lakeville Online School. For questions about LinK12 Lakeville please call 952-232-2023 or email amy.bercich@isd194.org. To enroll, please visit the LinK12-Lakeville website.

It is important to note that students enrolling in LinK12 will be committing to remain in LinK12 until the remainder of the current semester.

• A district-wide social-emotional framework will support students in returning to learning for Fall 2021
• Schools will continue to provide social emotional learning and increased equitable services to support the success of each and every student.

We are offering a variety of extended year instructional and enrichment programs for students of every grade level and ability to help students be prepared for the 2021-22 school year.