Per the NYSDOH and Steuben County Public Health Department, the Wayland-Cohocton School District is working on establishing procedures for the Test to Stay (TTS) protocol. This strategy allows asymptomatic and unvaccinated direct contacts, identified through school tracing, to avoid exclusion from the academic part of the school day by testing negative with an antigen test (ex. Binax NOW/CareStart) on each school day for seven days after exposure. After arrangements have been finalized we will provide testing times and locations that will occur within the district.
1. All families/staff may take advantage of this free testing option. The District must have a signed consent form on file in order to perform the testing.
2. The daily test must be conducted in the district and the results confirmed before the school day begins.
If negative, the student/staff proceeds to class.
If positive, the student/staff is sent home and existing procedures are followed.
Other Parameters as established by the Departments of Health
Students will not be permitted to ride the school bus in the morning prior to receiving their test. Parents are required to transport children to the district for the testing. However, with a negative test result, students can ride the school bus home at the end of the day.
Adults accompanying students to school for testing must wait 10-15 minutes for the test results before they can leave.
The direct contact who is allowed to remain in school through TTS must still be quarantined outside of school instruction/academic periods— No community activities or extracurricular participation including clubs, sports, arts/performance activities is permitted while the student remains in quarantine. The student/staff member may only go from home to school for instruction and back home again.
If the exposed person who is allowed to remain in school through TTS develops symptoms, they must be excluded from school per current school guidance.
Home tests will not be accepted.
A school test is not required on weekends and holidays when the seven-day TTS period is still active.
We are working to have these protocols in place by mid-week and we will share additional information and directions on how to sign up to participate in the Test to Stay program.