The recommended amount of time that teachers and students should isolate or quarantine for COVID-19 has now been cut from the previous 10 days to five, under new interim state rules for Hawaii K-12 schools. But the Hawaii teachers union and other critics feel the change is too little, too late, to keep students and teachers safely learning in person.

The new guidance was created to align with that of the CDC and to help maintain crucial in-person learning, state schools interim Superintendent Keith Haya­shi and state Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said Tuesday in a news conference. It applies to all of Hawaii’s 257 regular public schools and 37 public charter schools as well as private schools, a state Department of Health spokesman said.

The new guidance is expected to bring school employees and students back to campuses faster after exposure or illness. Some experts say that’s critical to keep learning disruptions to a minimum, while others see it as opening the door to more spread of the virus, and worry about the nation’s record-high levels of cases and children’s hospitalizations.

Kemble said in the news conference that national studies suggest students are safer from viral infection in a structured school setting where multiple health protocols are emphasized.

The testing positivity rate in Hawaii schools last week was 7.6%, a Department of Health spokesman said, while during that same period the statewide testing positivity rate ranged from 16.7% to over 20%.

Asked to respond to those who feel it’s dangerous to shorten the isolation and quarantine time for students and school employees during a surge, Kemble said, “We have to balance trying to get the most infectious period and the most high-risk time in isolation and quarantine, while recognizing the incredible disruption we are seeing with the incredible numbers with omicron, to have that many kids out of school, not actively engaged in learning, or to have staffing issues.”

Many teachers absent

About 12% of the 12,800 teachers in the public schools continue to call out, half due to sickness, half for other reasons such as vacation and family leave, Haya­shi confirmed. Hundreds fewer substitute teachers than needed have signed up to work.

He acknowledged that students who are missing their regular teachers may be moved temporarily to cafeterias or auditoriums to be supervised by other adults. But he said students should still be able to do “self-directed learning,” such as silent reading, and working on laptops in Google classrooms.

However, Osa Tui Jr., president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said Tuesday in a separate news conference that he doubts that meaningful learning is happening in such cases. “What we see is very reactive and not proactive. Students continue to be warehoused in cafeterias and auditoriums while staffing shortages grow,” he said. He added that state officials are “out of touch with the reality in our schools, where social distancing is not happening and students are on their phones.”

Hayashi also said student attendance has held steady or risen in nine of 15 school complexes, compared with last week.

Still, many teachers have reported widespread absences. Tui said some teachers have reported half their classrooms missing.

Adding to the growing list of local educational institutions that have abruptly shifted to virtual learning:

>> Sunset Beach Elementary School will be on remote learning for three school days, starting today, and returning to in-person Tuesday, a state Department of Education spokeswoman said.

>> Waianae Intermediate School went online Monday and came back to in-person learning Tuesday.

>> Kamaile Academy this week joined the list of at least nine Hawaii public charter schools that have had to go virtual because of the COVID-19 surge.

Planning criticized

Tui said the union generally supports following the latest CDC guidance. But he decried what he sees as a failure of the DOE to work with the union much earlier in the pandemic to create an orderly, publicly transparent plan for COVID-19 surge situations like this.

“The schools are having to scramble without any kind of template we have worked out,” he said. There should be a clear state strategy to provide laptops for distance learning, a set time allowance for teachers to make the shift to virtual instruction, adequate substitute teachers, professional testing of classroom air quality, safety supplies such as high-quality masks, and more, Tui said. A complaint in 2021 by the union to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board is still pending.

Hayashi said in a statement that the new guidance “supports our efforts to continue to prioritize in-person learning while upholding safety protocols in our schools. The revisions also recognize the protection that vaccinations provide for staff and students, and the added protection boosters provide for eligible staff. More than 90% of HIDOE employees are vaccinated, and we continue to support efforts to make vaccinations accessible in our schools along with COVID testing opportunities.”

Twenty Oahu schools recently began offering testing in partnership with CVS for students and staff under the federally funded Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program, the DOE said. In all, the DOE said, there are 168 testing sites at public schools statewide through that program and Operation Expanded Testing, another federally sponsored program.

Kemble said some schools have expressed interest in being pilot sites for a “test to stay” program, but that is still in the planning stages.

NEW SCHOOL GUIDANCE

Isolation

Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 or have COVID-19 symptoms should isolate for five days regardless of their vaccination status. They can return to school when all the following conditions are met:

>> Five full days have passed since symptoms first appeared or since the test was conducted.

>> No fever for 24 hours.

>> Symptoms have improved.

Quarantine

Students and staff who have been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19 should quarantine for five days after last contact if:

>> They have not completed their primary vaccine series (two shots Pfizer or Moderna, one shot J&J).

>> They are 18 or older and have completed their primary vaccine series but have not received a recommended booster when eligible.

Students and staff should get tested on Day Five of quarantine, even if they do not have symptoms.

Students and staff are not required to quarantine if:

>> They are ages 5-17 and have completed their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines (two shots Pfizer or Moderna).

>> They are 18 and older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters.