The Santa Barbara Unified School District will test 12,500 students and 2,000 staff members for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, at the beginning of the school year.
Students will be asked to extract nasal swab samples by sticking an instrument about an inch into their nostrils. Parents must consent to the test, and if they don’t, students must sign up for the independent study program, which will be housed at Alta Vista Alternative School, according to district officials.
Testing will happen during the school day.
District officials said Tuesday night that they are hoping to get a baseline by testing the kids and staff during the first two weeks to identify rates of COVID-19.
After the self-swab by students, staff will perform antigen, rapid result tests.
The district showed a short video Tuesday night of children self-swabbing, attempting to show the ease of the act, with a narrator saying that children should twirl and circle the swab about one inch deep into the nostril for 15 seconds “to get all sides of the nose.”
“We want to assure folks that even our 6 year olds can do this,” said assistant superintendent Frann Wageneck.
Wageneck also said that 70% of district teachers have verified that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Teachers return to work on Thursday, ahead of the first day of school next week.
The meeting was temporarily disrupted by protesters yelling outside the building, who were opposed to the district’s vaccination and testing requirements.
Board President Kate Ford at one point called a halt to the meeting to take a break.
During the testing presentation, Wageneck noted the new situation the country, state and county are in as COVID-19 cases among children continue to rise.
Wageneck said between July 22 and July 29, there were nearly 72,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases across the nation, a number which was “almost twice as many as the previous week.”
She said the high numbers are the reason the district is taking testing so seriously.
In the week ending Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported 112 new positive cases among children (under 18), which was 17% of the total cases (658) reported over those seven days.
During the school board meeting, several speakers at public comment criticized the district’s policy for wearing masks indoors and mandating vaccine verification or testing for staff.
“I am concerned about masks for children, especially young children,” said Janet Price, a retired teacher.
She said children at a young age can face health and language risks.
“They cannot see nor easily use facial expressions with each other, which are a huge part of non-verbal communication,” Price said.
School board member Virginia Alvarez defended the district’s approach.
“I have had three members die because of COVID, and the fact that they did not have access to the vaccine,” Alvarez said.
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state will require COVID-19 vaccine verification or weekly testing for all K-12 school employees.
The California Department of Public Health order goes into effect this week, but districts have until Oct. 15 to come into compliance.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.