In our ongoing efforts to best balance safety and the quality of care we offer, this policy follows the latest guidance from health officials and the CDC. Please read through this policy carefully; we rely on the trust and cooperation of every member of our program to keep our students, their families, and our staff safe and healthy. 

​

​

We strongly encourage vaccination of all students over the age of 6 months and their families. This is the single most effective way to combat severe disease and help to slow the spread. As full authorization has now been granted for the vaccines, they have continued to prove invaluable. Unfortunately, Idaho state law bars us from requiring these vaccines as we do with others.

​

​

Adult masking is required during high risk community spread times. Since the CDC no longer tracks community spread, we use the wastewater tracking tool available here, and for our purposes define "high risk" as an average of 1,200ppm or higher. At all other times, masking is encouraged but not required unless symptoms are present or there is a known exposure. Guidelines for masking after exposure are laid out below.

​

​

Rapid covid testing will be administered by staff for students 2 years old and older for anyone who develops symptoms while in Le Soleil's care. The test cost will be passed on to the student's family on the next month's tuition invoice, and authorization for administering the test will be given through the COVID antigen test authorization form required to be filled out for all students.

​

​

For students with a confirmed exposure, be that at school, at home, or elsewhere, we require either a voluntary—but highly encouraged—quarantine of 5 days OR daily rapid testing before coming to school (unless symptoms occur, in which case quarantine becomes the only option), with either of those choices followed by a PCR/NAAT test on at least the 5th day after exposure. Any student 2 years or older must wear a mask at all times for 10 days after the exposure. Photographic evidence of each day's rapid test is to be provided until the results of the PCR/NAAT test are received.

​

​

When a confirmed exposure happens at school, it will be communicated to families through the brightwheel® app as soon as possible. A confirmed exposure will trigger, in addition to what is outlined above, a period of 10 days of mandatory masking for all adults and students age 2 and up. This means a mask must be worn from before the time you enter the building until after you have left it, with the exception of meal and nap times for the students.

​

​

For a student who tests positive, we require a minimum 5-day isolation period from either the first day they showed symptoms or the day they tested positive (whichever came most recently), after which they can return as long as they are both feeling better and test negative on a rapid test (PCR/NAAT tests detect parts of the virus for up to 3 months after it's no longer active in the body, whereas rapid antigen tests largely tell whether there is active virus in the body). If a student still tests positive on an antigen test after 5 days, they may still be contagious! Written permission from a licensed physician to return to school will be accepted if a student continues to test positive on antigen tests after 10 days.

​

​

We do our best to keep rapid tests on hand, and can recommend local and online retailers to help you stock up on them yourself to help us keep from running out. If you do not have a rapid test at home and need one, just let us know; we can provide it to you to administer on your child when you arrive, before joining their group for the day. We are not able to administer tests on children under 2 years old.

 

​

**Health insurers are now required to provide or reimburse the purchase of 8 rapid tests per month per person covered, so check with your insurer!