On August 5, 2022, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) released an updated version of the Requirements and Guidance to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools and Child Care. BSD will continue to follow the guidance from WA DOH as it comes out, with any requirements followed as requirements and any recommendations followed as recommendations. This COVID-19 guidance is important for school staff and administrators making critical decisions around COVID-19.

The district’s respective COVID-19 webpages will be updated to reflect any changes throughout the year.

 

Updates for the 2022-23 School Year

 

Requirements and Guidance to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools and Child Care:

  • Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 are required to stay at home and isolate for 5 days. Repeating initial COVID-19 testing will not affect this requirement.
  • Students and staff returning from 5 days of isolation should wear a well-fitted mask from days 6 to 10. Those returning are encouraged to test before doing so.
  • If students or staff continue to test positive for COVID-19 after day 5, they must isolate for the full 10 days.
  • Schools and child care providers are no longer required to directly notify high risk individuals of exposure but must continue to have a process in place to inform students, staff and families of cases and outbreaks.
  • Schools and child care providers continue to be required to report outbreaks (3 or more cases within a specified core group) to local health jurisdictions and to have a system in place to respond.

 

WA DOH continues to encourage schools and child care providers to consider their local context when selecting any additional measures to help reduce COVID-19 transmission in schools and child care settings and to coordinate with their local health jurisdiction, particularly during times of outbreak. Bellevue School District partners with Public Health — Seattle & King County for this purpose and to help keep our learning community safe for in-person learning.

 

Reporting COVID-19 Cases and Outbreaks

The updated guidance from WA DOH requires notification to staff, students and their families when there are cases and outbreaks in schools. The Bellevue School District maintains an online dashboard for this purpose. COVID-19 cases for the 2022-23 school year are located on the COVID-19 Cases in Schools Dashboard, with data updated daily at 7:00 a.m.

 

Vaccinations

WA DOH encourages families to vaccinate their children who are eligible in consultation with their health care provider. COVID-19 vaccination is now available to children 6 months and older. All employees and volunteers in educational settings are required to be fully vaccinated or have obtained a medical or religious exemption per Governor’s proclamation 21-14.3.

 

Additional Resources & Recommendations

You can access the updated COVID-19 school and childcare guidance on the WA DOH website located on the Resources and Recommendations page in the School and Childcare section.


The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.