Confusing CDC Guidance Threatens to Keep Students Out of School

Parents are eager to see their children learning in person. Yet as Omicron surges, the biggest threat to in-person learning are protocols that keep kids home. Unfortunately, the CDC has made matters worse by issuing complicated and conflicting guidance that could lead to thousands of students returning to remote learning. 

Prior to the beginning of January, the CDC recommended teachers and students who tested positive to isolate for 10 days. A 14-day at-home quarantine was recommended for those exposed to coronavirus and not fully vaccinated. This meant that one Covid-positive student could trigger a two week quarantine for an entire class.  

This has been immensely disruptive for schools and families. As many as a third of parents say their kids missed some school due to quarantines. At one point, nearly 15 percent of all Mississippi students were in quarantine. There have also been instances where schools closed because too many support staff, bus drivers, or teachers were in quarantine without enough substitutes to backfill their roles.

Omicron is worsening this problem given its heightened transmissibility and ability to infect both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people, including children. Just this week, more than one third of the 1,200 COVID-19 tests administered by the Austin Independent School District came back positive. 

Unfortunately, the CDC has made planning for in-person classes more difficult with changing guidance that has been confusing at best and conflicting at worst. 

It began in late December with allowing healthcare workers to return to work from isolation after seven days along with a negative test. But the guidance for individuals has changed three times in less than a week. Instead of seven days, the CDC said individuals could come out of isolation after five days as long as they continue wearing a mask for another five days. Then, the CDC modified the language to make a test optional, arguing that it was not required because "a negative antigen test does not necessarily indicate the absence of transmissible virus.” But the website changed again, now saying individuals “should” get tested after five days.

This debate is now carrying over in the CDC’s recommendations for how schools should manage quarantines and isolation. Unlike a healthcare worker, a teacher or student who tests positive can leave isolation after five days without a negative test as long as they continue wearing a mask for another five days. The language for quarantined students is more confusion.  The CDC says a student in quarantine should get tested after five days. But they can still return to school if they can't find a test, as long as they wear a mask.  But later in the guidance, the CDC  seems to suggest quarantines themselves might be optional: "If they are unable to quarantine, they should wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days when around others at home and in public." Parents and school leaders are left with untangling this knot.

The confusing guidance earned a rare rebuke from the American Medical Association, noting that “the new recommendations on quarantine and isolation are not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus….A negative test should be required for ending isolation after one tests positive for COVID-19. Reemerging without knowing one’s status unnecessarily risks further transmission of the virus.”

The good news is that the shortened quarantine will mean fewer days of missed school for thousands of students and teachers. But shortages of antigen tests may prevent many from taking advantage of this new flexibility. Even schools with tests may not have the logistical capacity to use them effectively. A week ago, 69 percent of approximately 36,000 COVID tests completed by Chicago Public School students were deemed “invalid” due to results overflowing out of drop boxes and shipping delays.

So what should state and school leaders do to limit the number of students in quarantine? 

First, this is only CDC guidance — state health officials can issue clearer recommendations. One proposal by Brown’s dean of public health suggests a simpler set of principles: isolate for five days, test daily, and end isolation after two negative tests. If someone remains positive, isolate for the full ten days or until there are two negative tests.    

Schools should continue building out testing capabilities to implement these new guidelines and operate test-to-stay programs to keep kids in school. 

Only 17 states require districts to ensure that students can access instruction during quarantine or isolation. That is unacceptable. Schools should guarantee parents that their child will receive live, daily online instruction while in quarantine. If the school cannot provide it, then they should partner with an online school or provider that can.  

Finally, school closures and student quarantines have a domino effect that disrupts the lives of working parents. Governors should use American Rescue Plan funds to establish an Education Recovery Benefit that can quickly provide temporary, direct cash assistance to low-income families to cover lost income, childcare, tutoring, tuition, and other needs families face due to schools being closed. 

There is little time to waste given the speed at which Omicron is spreading. We need policies and strategies that meet this moment and minimize the disruption for schools and students. 

John Bailey is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and also host of the podcast TechEnabled.