Jordan School Board Decides on New Pandemic Protocol
Sep 22, 2020, 7:28 PM | Updated: 9:10 pm
RIVERTON, Utah – The Jordan School Board has decided on a new pandemic protocol for high schools during outbreaks of COVID-19.
Board members took up the issue during their normal study session late Tuesday afternoon.
The protocol calls for the following:
- 15 coronavirus cases in a high school will close the school for one day for cleaning.
- If the cases reach 1% of the student body, then the board will meet to decide if it goes to a hybrid schedule or closes for in-person learning.
- If the case count hits 2% of the student body, then the school will close and students will have to move to an online schedule for the next two weeks.
“I think it’s good,” said Kelly Griffen who is a 5th grade teacher and also the Jordan Education Association president. “[The Board] has set more definite conditions rather than, they’ll just meet and decide every time.”
Griffen said that the unknown was really adding to the stress of teachers.
The state health department recommends a school shuts down after 15 students test positive. However, the actual authority to close a school is up to the individual school boards.
Tuesday’s board decision gives more specific direction on when to close the school and switch to online learning.
The decision also means that Copper Hills High School will more than likely reopen on Wednesday. It was shut down to in-person learning on Tuesday because 16 students had tested positive for coronavirus.
