Written by T. Logan Dayne
The San Diego Unified School District is sending students home with the test they want to fail. Fearing that students may be exposed to COVID-19 while on winter break, the school district is sending each of their students home with two rapid COVID-19 tests. With many students traveling and gathering along with fear of the Omicron variant, the rapid tests are for students to self administer before returning back to school come Spring.
The district is instructing that one test be taken on December 31st and the second on the morning before returning to school. If a student tests positive, they should of course contact their doctor. Based on the announcement, it appears that this is all on an honor system, as no statement was made on needing to show proof of a negative test to return to school, giving parents a bit more power on how to use this resource. The district Executive Director of Nursing and Wellness Susan Barndollar also encouraged families, “to take common-sense precaution to protect themselves so we can all return to a safe learning environment after winter break,” leaving judgement to the families of students. Kids are statistically the least risk averse to COVID-19 and it appears more so with the Omicron variant, which according to data, seems to be the least threatening variant yet.
Although unprecedented, the take-home tests are meant to give families from a variety of backgrounds “peace of mind” while also allowing for good judgement on behalf of those families. It is unclear how take home tests will be used in the future but giving resources to families and then stepping back appears to be a win for families in an era where people are becoming increasingly tired of government overhead, including that from teachers and schools. After a year of lockdowns combined with discussions of personal intrusions and mandates, moving towards a place where people are simply given the resources to care for themselves and make good judgements is a compromise in the right direction.
Photo Cred: San Diego Unified School District
