Richardson ISD is enacting a new threshold to determine next steps for campuses with COVID-19 outbreaks.
When absences at any given campus reach 15%, the district will seek guidance from Dallas County Health and Human Services on how to proceed. RISD expects DCHHS to release more specific threshold breakdowns and policies for how to react in the coming days, the district shared in a Sept. 3 update.
This came after the district moved to shift Brentfield Elementary to virtual-only instruction for 10 days when nearly a quarter of the student population was absent. Students will return to in-person learning beginning Sept. 13.
RISD’s board of trustees received an update on district cases and protocols during an emergency meeting Sept. 3. Staff shared that at least four more campuses are nearing the threshold.
The board moved to affirm and support the district’s existing masking mandate through a unanimous vote at the meeting. Another case and procedure update will be shared with trustees at a scheduled Oct. 4 board meeting.
The district has seen nearly 650 student cases of COVID-19 since the start of the school year, as of Sept. 7. There were 1,854 reported over the entire 2020-21 school year, RISD shared.
At Lake Highlands High School, there have been 50 combined student and staff cases of coronavirus this year. Cases by campus are being tracked here.
