State toughens school quarantine guidelines as teachers plead for stricter reopening rules

The Utah State Board of Education building in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

New guidance says students, teachers should stay away for 2 weeks after exposure and not just if they have symptoms

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah education and public health leaders have scrapped a plan allowing students exposed to the coronavirus to show up for school as long as they don’t have symptoms.

The move follows criticism from doctors and parents who said the previous guidelines, based on protocol for workers at essential businesses, could invite outbreaks.

“What that means is there will likely be more quarantines,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson.

A new version of a state manual posted online Thursday directs students, teachers and other school employees to stay home for two weeks if they’ve been in contact with someone who tested positive.

The Utah Board of Education has allowed school districts to craft their own reopening policies, but masks are required in each and every classroom.

Several teachers on Thursday pleaded with the state board at its regularly scheduled meeting to set stricter requirements in order to limit the spread of the virus. But representatives for the state’s charter schools and superintendents countered that the plan allows schools to respond to the specific needs of their communities and the severity of outbreaks there.

The board is scheduled to vote on further potential changes to the statewide school reopening plan later in the day.

This story will be updated.

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