Dear SFUSD Staff,

Public health experts have said that while the threat from COVID-19 is not over, San Francisco is now in a significantly better position today than at any prior time in the pandemic due to the city’s high vaccination and booster rates and the availability of effective COVID-19 treatments.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) had updated their isolation and quarantine directive to bring the city’s guidance into alignment with what has been shared by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). While the SFDPH guidance stands for the general public, businesses that operate within the jurisdiction of Cal/OSHA must still follow their established non-emergency COVID-19 regulations.  

What is changing 

• The updated SFDPH guidance changes what had previously been requirements for isolation and quarantine for the general public in San Francisco to recommendations. This applies to students only.
• Students, regardless of vaccination status, are strongly recommended to follow the CDPH guidance and should isolate if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (through a positive test or medical diagnosis). School site administrators may choose to send the student’s family a memo. Find student memos here (translations coming).
• Students who have COVID-19 symptoms or who are a close contact of someone with COVID-19 are strongly recommended to follow the CDPH guidelines, and they should isolate if they test positive. School site administrators may choose to send the student’s family a memo. Find student memos here (translations coming).
• SFUSD’s COVID-19 Support Line and covidreporting@sfusd.edu will go offline on Mar. 31.
• SFUSD’s COVID-19 Testing Dashboard will no longer be updated as of Mar. 31.
• SFUSD will discontinue COLOR self-swab molecular test kits as of Mar. 24. The last pick-up day will be Mar. 17 for schools and Mar. 24 at 555 Franklin Street.
• Positive case reporting and group contact tracing is required for staff only. It is no longer required to enter students who report testing positive or symptomatic or close contacts into Smartsheets. Find memos for staff here (translations coming).

What is staying the same

• While the SFDPH guidance stands for the general public, businesses that operate within the jurisdiction of Cal/OSHA must still follow Cal/OSHA’s established non-emergency COVID-19 regulations.  
• Employees who test positive for COVID-19 or have COVID-19 like symptoms are required to continue to isolate per CDPH’s Isolation and Quarantine Guidance.
• School site and central office administrators should continue to report staff COVID cases into Smartsheets (log in through Gmail and use SFUSD email address and password).
• School site and central office administrators should continue to send Group Tracing, Symptomatic and Positive case memos to staff only as applicable. Find memos for staff here (translations coming).
• Over-the-counter (OTC) rapid antigen test kits provided by CDPH to students will be distributed to school sites through Jun. 2, 2023.
• Cal/OSHA requires that we provide testing to staff free of charge during paid work time if they are exposed at work until 2025, so OTC rapid antigen tests will be made available in those cases.
• We will continue the current practice of recommending, not requiring, masks at all SFUSD school sites and central offices. Students, employees and visitors may choose to wear a mask as they see fit. 
• Schools and central offices may request masks through the SFUSD warehouse. Please use the Building and Facilities Order form for masks. The warehouse is no longer providing other supplies. For hand sanitizer, please ask your custodial supervisor to fill the wall-mounted dispensers.
• We will continue to share updates and resources with families about how to access vaccines in San Francisco via our website, print, and email.
• We will continue to make SFUSD school sites available should SFDPH have the resources to set up COVID-19 vaccine clinics at SFUSD school sites. 
• As the COVID-19 landscape continues to change, we remain committed to communities most impacted by the virus. We will continue to work closely with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to share information about how to access COVID-19 resources, such as testing and vaccinations, with those most in need.

In community,
Dr. Matt Wayne, Superintendent