TK-12 Schools

• Protocol for organized youth sports (updated 11/8/22)
  The Protocol for Organized Youth Sports: Appendix S is part of the LAC Health Officer Order. Click here for additional languages.

Requirements for Reporting Cases at Your School
Schools and programs serving school-aged youth are required to notify LAC Department of Public Health (DPH) of all clusters of 3 or more cases of COVID-19 in a classroom, office, or other pre-defined or identifiable group (i.e., cohort, team/club, etc.) who were on campus at any point within the 14 days prior to illness onset date. Cases include employees, children/students, and visitors with confirmed COVID-19. The illness onset date is the date COVID-19 symptoms started, or the COVID-19 test date, whichever is earlier. All cluster notifications should be submitted to DPH within 1 business day of the school/program being notified of the third, or last, case in the cluster through the reporting method outlined below.

• Online reporting:
  • Clusters of 3 or more school-associated COVID-19 cases should be reported online through the secure web application, Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracing (SPOT). This can be done on a computer or mobile device.
    • If reporting multiple cases, you may choose to use the “Bulk Upload Template” (an Excel file) located within the SPOT Portal to submit your report.
• Training Resources for how to report COVID-19 clusters through SPOT:
  • This data dictionary (Español) (updated 5/1/22) describes each of the items of information (variables) that are collected as part of cluster reporting through SPOT.
  • Training videos and resources can be found at the SPOT School Help and Training Materials.
  • This FAQ provides answers to commonly asked questions as well as additional links to training materials and resources.

Instructions for Cases and Close Contacts

• Flow charts (PDF: English | Español) (updated 12/22/22)

  Flow charts for schools that provide guidance on actions for those in isolation and those identified as close contacts.

Notifying Staff, Students, and Families of Actions to Take for Isolation and Close Contacts
Schools are required to notify all children, students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 with the actions to take for isolation. Children, students, and staff who had an exposure to a person with COVID-19 during their infectious period while at the facility, or close contacts, must also be notified with the actions to take. The notification letter templates can be adapted by schools for these notifications.

• Exposure Notification Letter Templates
  • Isolation Notification Letter: Notification letter for staff, students and their families who need to isolate due to a positive COVID-19 viral test result.
  • Exposure Notification Letters: Educational sites providing activities and services for children, students, and staff are required to notify all children, students and staff who had an exposure or potential exposure to a person with COVID-19 during their infectious period while at the site.
  • General Exposure Notification Letter: Educational sites providing activities and services for children, students, and staff may choose to notify the general community of an exposure that has occurred at the site and make the community aware of precautions to take to prevent spread.
For TK-12 schools: English | Spanish (updated 1/9/23) | For Youth Sports Programs (updated 8/19/22)
 

Youth Recreational Sports Programs
If an individual with confirmed COVID-19 participated during their infectious period in any games, tournaments, or other Youth Recreational Sports Program-related activities involving other teams, the Youth Recreational Sports Program Compliance Officer is required to notify members of their own team AND notify the opposing team(s) of potential exposure. Compliance officers for all affected teams must work collaboratively to identify any individuals who meet the criteria for having been exposed. (Use the Youth Sports Programs Exposure Notification Letter document above to access the appropriate template for your team and the opposing team)

• Exposure notice to make people aware that they may have recently been exposed to COVID-19 if they visited a location.

• COVID-19 Testing Resources for Children (updated 9/2/22)—For information and locations that test children. Español | 简体中文 | 繁體中文 | العربية | հայերեն | អក្សរខ្មែរ | 日本語 | 한국어 | Русский | Tiếng Việt | فارسى | Tagalog

• Masks
  • Follow current State and Local Guidance for Masks. See DPH Reopening Protocols for TK-12 Schools and the current LAC Health Officer Order for updates on masking requirements and recommendations for schools.
  • Information for the public on how to use masks: Webpage: ph.lacounty.gov/masks (or ph.lacounty.gov/mascarillas Spanish)—PDFs: English (updated 3/4/22) | Spanish | 简体中文 | 繁體中文 | العربية | հայերեն | អក្សរខ្មែរ | 日本語 | 한국어 | Русский | Tiếng Việt | فارسى | Tagalog

• Travel
  DPH Travel Advisory and Guidance—Recommendations and requirements for domestic and international travel.