AUSTIN, Texas - In a letter addressed to AISD families, students and staff AISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz has announced all district-sponsored international trips have been canceled over COVID-19 coronavirus concerns.
AISD has canceled all trips through March 31 because of the increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. "We care about the health of our students, staff, and families and we want to keep everyone updated on what we’re doing as a district to mitigate the risk of the coronavirus," Dr. Cruz wrote.
The school district is following the CDC's recommendations to avoid all travel to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea. They have also asked families to follow the guidelines concerning Spring Break, "Austin ISD encourages families to follow CDC guidelines regarding travel and avoid visiting these countries over Spring Break. Parents of students who do travel to one of these countries over Spring Break or have plans to do so, should contact campus administration and plan to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning to the United States, per the CDC’s guidelines," the letter said.
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In any case that a student has to undergo self-quarantine, the school district will count those days as excused absences.
Read the full letter below:
We care about the health of our students, staff and families and we want to keep everyone updated on what we’re doing as a district to mitigate the risk of the coronavirus. Out of an abundance of caution and to be in alignment with other governmental partners, Austin ISD has canceled all district-sponsored international school trips through March 31 because of the increased risk of exposure to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The situation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Warning Level Advisory can change quickly, and we will continue to assess the impacts on domestic travel on a frequent basis.
Before returning to school please ensure students do not have or had recently had a fever of 100.4F or higher. If a student has developed a fever, they should check in with the physician before returning to school.
The CDC is recommending avoiding all non-essential travel to China, Iran, Italy and South Korea and has placed restrictions on re-entry to the United States for individuals traveling from those countries. Austin ISD encourages families to follow CDC guidelines regarding travel and avoid visiting these countries over Spring Break. Parents of students who do travel to one of these countries over Spring Break or have plans to do so, should contact campus administration and plan to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning to the United States, per the CDC’s guidelines. The self-quarantine days will be counted as excused absences.
Austin ISD is closely monitoring the situation and communicating with the CDC, Texas Department of State Health Services and the Travis County Health Department to ensure all students and staff members are safe and updated with the latest information.
Information on AISD’s response to coronavirus may be found at: https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/coronavirus.
Thank you,
Paul Cruz, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Austin ISD