District plans COVID testing in schools

By Paul Hall on Friday, February 12th, 2021 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories

La Grande – The La Grande School District is planning for the requirement to offer COVID-19 testing at LGSD schools. According to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), a K-12 school operating in-person for students in a county that do not meet the Ready Schools, Safe Learners (RSSL) general metrics must provide on-site COVID-19 testing beginning March 1, 2021.

The testing is only for symptomatic and exposed students and staff; for example, if a person
develops symptoms at school or when a cohort has been exposed. The testing will use the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid point-of-care antigen test, which takes 15 minutes to return a result. The tests are free and will be administered by a trained person at the school, who does not need to be a medical professional. The test is self-administered. Also, a student must have a written consent form on file prior to testing for a test to be administered. While there is no opt-out form, by not completing a form for your student, the school cannot test the student.

One thing remains the same – if a student has COVID symptoms, they will be sent home from school regardless if they are tested or not.

If you have questions/concerns regarding COVID testing, please contact your local community school or the LGSD nurses:
Amy Pennington, RN – (541) 786-0523
Jacey Teeter, RN – (541) 910-6417