The state Department of Health says the Tuesday tests were arranged because of possible exposure from a student who was diagnosed with active TB disease. The student is currently not attending school and is receiving treatment.

The chief of the department’s Tuberculosis Control Branch, Dr. Richard Brostrom, says tuberculosis usually requires many hours of close indoor contact to be communicable, so only those students with lots of exposure need to be tested. He says the testing represents an extra measure of safety.

The department will only be testing students and staff who shared the same classroom with the ill student.