All Minnesota residents ages 5 and older are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine The CDC recommends that everyone who can get vaccinated should do so at the first opportunity available to them. 

There is no cost for the vaccine. You do not need to provide a government-issued ID or medical insurance to be vaccinated, and no question on immigration status is ever asked.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, or other vaccines your child may need, talk to your child’s health provider.

To find upcoming clinics and more information, visit spps.org/covidvaccine.

Updated 3/18/22

Community levels of COVID-19 are currently low in Ramsey County. Starting Monday, April 18, face masks will be optional in all SPPS buildings and on school transportation. Face masks could be required in the future if Ramsey County reaches high community levels of COVID-19. Community levels are updated weekly by the CDC. 

Staff are still required to get vaccinated or test weekly. Rapid tests will continue to be available for students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms. 

SPPS will continue to create space for social distancing of 3 feet or more to the greatest extent possible.

SPPS will keep students and staff in small groups that stay together as much as possible throughout the day, and limit mixing between groups as much as possible in common spaces (during lunch, bathroom breaks, arrival and dismissal, free periods, recess).

Families should conduct a health screening every morning before sending their student to school or the bus stop. School staff will also monitor for symptoms throughout the school day. If your child is exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, do not send them to school, even if they are fully vaccinated. Report the absence to your child’s school and submit a report to the COVID-19 Reporting System the same day for next steps.

Answer the following questions each morning before sending your child to school:

1. Did my child recently test positive for COVID-19?
2. Does my child have any of the COVID-19 symptoms listed above, even if they have completed their primary vaccination series, received a booster shot, or previously had COVID-19?
3. Is my child unvaccinated and does my child live with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?

If you answered YES to any of the above:

• Do not send your child to school, report your child’s absence, and contact your child’s healthcare provider.
• Report your child’s symptoms or exposure using the online SPPS COVID-19 Reporting System. 

Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is pleased to offer free COVID-19 rapid tests for students exhibiting symptoms to take home from school. The test available to take home is the BinaxNOW rapid test. Each BinaxNOW kit includes a nasal swab and testing card that will produce results in 15 minutes. 

Students who are sent home with COVID-19 symptoms will be given a test to bring home. This will help families quickly determine whether or not their child has COVID-19.

Any positive COVID-19 test result should be reported using the SPPS COVID-19 Reporting System. Even with a negative test result, a student who is experiencing symptoms should not return to school until symptoms have improved and the student has been fever free for 24 hours. 

Testing instructions are available from the manufacturer in English and Spanish. We are unable to reproduce instructions in other languages. 

• HOW TO VIDEO: A Guide for the BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Self Test: youtu.be/baQQfoX-JXo 
• BinaxNOW: What You Need to Know: abbott.com/corpnewsroom/diagnostics-testing/BinaxNOW-what-you-need-to-know.html

For routine testing, please use other testing resources in the community including your healthcare provider, local pharmacies and community test sites. You can also order test kits online for testing at home through Vault Health.

SPPS will maintain a 10-day isolation period for students and a 5-day isolation period for staff who test positive for COVID-19. If you have a household member who tests positive, unvaccinated staff and students should quarantine for 10 days. The quarantine period starts the day after symptoms began or testing occurred, whichever is earlier.

Students and staff may return to school after their isolation period IF symptoms are improving or resolved and they are fever free for 24 hours. Students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms who have not been tested must follow the SPPS COVID-19 Exclusion Decision Tree to determine when it is OK to return to school. 

Quarantine is considered an excused absence. Teachers will share resources and materials through Seesaw/Schoology and other means for students who are home due to COVID. Teachers will not give direct instruction to students who are out of school for illness or quarantine. Students will have accommodations for extended deadlines or the option to make up work as needed.

Effective 3/4/22, SPPS will no longer conduct contact tracing following a positive COVID-19 case report. Exclusion guidance will focus around individuals with symptoms as well as positive cases and their household members only. With the end of contact tracing, this means families will not be notified if someone in their student’s class, athletics team, bus or other extracurricular activity has tested positive for COVID-19.

SPPS is required to report confirmed cases of COVID-19 to the Minnesota Department of Health. Confirmed cases will also be published to the SPPS COVID-19 Dashboard.

Lunch and breakfast will be free for all students for the 2021-22 school year. Individual schools/programs will determine if meals will be served in cafeterias and/or classrooms. Students and staff are required to wear masks when they are not eating or drinking. Assigned seating will be required during meals.

Breakfast to Go will continue, with pre-packaged meals to be eaten in the classroom. Lunch will be served in reusable containers with lids rather than on traditional lunch trays, and table decals will mark designated seating locations in cafeterias. Staff will monitor safety protocols throughout the lunch period, including lining up and dismissal.

Meal boxes are available for students who must miss in-person instruction due to COVID quarantine. Meal boxes will include five breakfasts and five lunches. Families must pre-register to pick up meal boxes. Click here to register. Pickup will take place each Friday from 10 a.m.-noon at 1930 Como Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108. Children do not need to be present to pick up meals.

In-state day and overnight field trips are allowed. Out-of-state field trips (day and overnight) are allowed when COVID-19 community levels are low or medium in Ramsey County and the destination. Face masks may be required and/or trips may need to be canceled when COVID-19 community levels are high in Ramsey County and/or the destination. International field trips are not allowed.

Parents/guardians are welcome inside school buildings (we ask that families limit their visits to 15 minutes when possible). Outside visitors are allowed by appointment only. 

Activities that bring together large groups of people or activities that do not allow for social distancing, including assemblies, open houses and other indoor gatherings, will be limited. Group events, gatherings and meetings should be held online or outside, weather permitting, to the greatest extent possible.

Improved ventilation, daily building sanitation, and safety reminders posted throughout schools are some of the many steps being taken to ensure a safe return to school. SPPS buildings have air handling equipment that provides filtered outside air to occupied spaces such as classrooms, offices, gymnasiums, cafeterias and auditoriums to maintain good indoor air quality and comfort.

Air handling equipment is run at least one hour prior to occupancy each day to further flush out the buildings. During hot weather, the air handlers are also operated at night to help cool the building down. Rooms that do not have windows that can open are being provided with fresh air from the air handling systems and benefit from the changes outlined above. In spaces in which the district’s Indoor AIr Quality program has measured elevated levels of CO2, a standalone HEPA air purifier may be used.

Student Health and Wellness, Environmental Services Group (ESG), Security and Emergency Management, and custodial staff are working closely together to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Using EPA-approved disinfectant for SARS-CoV-2, custodial staff will significantly increase the wiping down and disinfecting of public spaces and high-touch surfaces across our buildings and throughout the school day. We will also provide greater access to cleaning materials for our teachers and staff so that they can clean and disinfect spaces, as needed.

Each evening, our custodial team will conduct a thorough cleaning of our spaces, again disinfecting high-touch surfaces like sinks, drinking fountains, door handles, tables and desks.

Hand hygiene routines will be built into the daily school schedule for all students and staff, including before and after meals, using the bathroom, recess, arrival and dismissal. Access to sinks and bathrooms will be staggered to minimize congregating. Any use of hand sanitizer by students will be supervised and sanitizer will be kept out of reach when not in use.

Water bottles will be provided to all students to minimize water fountain use.

The Minnesota State High School League and Minnesota Department of Education guidelines for athletics and activities continue to be updated regularly. Please refer to the MSHSL sport guidance and information for the most up-to-date information.

For more information, please visit spps.org/sports or contact your school's athletic director.