Dear Sacramento City Unified School District Families,

Please see below for important and timely updates from our Health Services Team. 

New Extra-Curricular Guidelines:  

Given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Sacramento County, SCUSD is taking temporary measures to address the increased spread of COVID-19. Case counts in Sacramento County have increased to 146.9 new cases per 100,000, and as cases spread in our wider community, we see the increased spread reflected in our school communities. 

To keep our schools safely open and protect the classroom as much as possible, it is with heavy heart that we temporarily pause extra-curricular activities. 

Effective immediately we will be pausing the following activities: 

• Field trips 
• Extra-curricular activities, during school and afterschool, that are not part of a structured group or cohort. In this case, an extra-curricular activity includes activities outside of the classroom during school or after school that would result in large groups coming together. For example, activities such as dances, rallies, food fairs, or other similar types of extra-curricular activities will be temporarily paused at this time. 
• Non-essential tournaments. Competitions that are not required, for example a tournament that is not part of a play-off or final, will be suspended at this time. 

The following structured activities are allowable and will continue following all required health and safety measures: 

• Activities that include fixed cohorts of students, such as athletics, band/orchestra, or other club activities, may continue following all the established health and safety measures. 
• Competitions that are part of the essential function of an activity may continue. 

Serna Center COVID-19 Testing Site Open on Jan 17 from 8am - 4pm: 

Due to the high demand in our SCUSD community for COVID-19 testing, we will open the Serna Center COVID Testing Center on Monday, January 17 from 8am – 4pm, which is a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We know that many of us take this day to reflect and honor Dr. King’s life and legacy, therefore in his honor, we will be serving our community through this crisis.  

New SCPH COVID-19 Symptom & Quarantine INTERIM K-12 Decision Forest:  

SCPH issued interim guidance, as CDPH has updated isolation guidance and is still considering revisions for quarantine and contact tracing. Please note, we expect additional CDPH guidance sometime this week, so this interim guidance will likely change. We have replaced the previous SCPH Decision Forest with the interim guidance. Find it in our Return to Health Appendices section. 

Basic Guidance for Families, Students and Staff:  

The most recent SCPH isolation and quarantine guidance for schools can be found here. Below is some general guidance in response to frequently asked questions. 

Tested Positive for COVID?   

If you tested positive for COVID-19 you must stay home and isolate for at least 5 days from the date tested positive. You may end isolation and return to school when symptoms resolve AND an antigen/rapid test collected on Day 5 is negative. With a negative test and symptoms resolved, the earliest you can return is Day 6. If you test positive on Day 5 or you do not test, you may return on Day 11. Present your negative test to your school office or supervisor on the day you return.  

Were You Identified as a Close Contact or Were Exposed to Someone Who Has COVID?   

Any unvaccinated close contacts should stay home and quarantine for at least 5 days after their last contact with a positive person. You must test on Day 5 and can return to work/school on Day 6 if the test is negative. Present your negative test to your school office or supervisor upon returning. CDPH is still revising their school guidance, so please note quarantine guidance may change. If you test positive, isolate per above. If you do not test, you can return 10 days after the last person who tested positive exits isolation. 

Note – for student close contact exposure in school, modified quarantine applies if the student/family consents to COVID testing.

Were You Identified as an Unvaccinated Household Close Contact?

Any unvaccinated household contacts must quarantine from the date the last person in the house tested positive. Household members should COVID-19 test on Day 5. If the positive case tests negative, as well as all other household members, and individuals are symptom-free, they may return on Day 6. Present your negative test to your school office or supervisor upon returning. If any individual in the household tests positive, refer back to the guidance for testing positive for COVID. CDPH is still revising their school guidance, so please note quarantine guidance may change.

Were You Exposed to COVID and Are Fully Vaccinated? 

If you are fully vaccinated and remain asymptomatic, you are not required to quarantine and may go to school/work. You must test on Day 5 from the day you were exposed. If you live with someone who is positive you may still return to school/work, however you should test right away, and again on Day 5 since your household members positive test. Fully vaccinated individuals are advised to receive a booster dose if eligible. 

General Illness Requirements:   

If you have any symptoms, stay home except to get tested or seek medical care. You can return to school if you test negative and symptoms resolve. If you do not test, stay home for 10 days from the day you first had a symptom. 

All SCUSD staff, students and household members may access free COVID-19 testing at Serna Center from 12-3:30 pm or at Albert Einstein Middle School from 3-6:30 pm.  To minimize exposure on our school campuses, School Site Care Room Testing and Surveillance Testing is for students and staff only. Other community members may access free testing at testing sites found here. 

You can find guidance about taking care of yourself and others while isolating here.  

Wear a good fitting mask whenever you are around others outside your household and always when at school or work, ensuring that your nose and mouth are covered. 

We appreciate your vigilance to help keep our schools as safe as possible during this difficult time.