The Department's COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance for School Year 2023-24 has been updated and can be found on our website here. The guidance took effect on June 30, 2023 and is based on the Hawai‘i State Department of Health COVID-19 Guidance for K-12 Schools aligned with updated guidance for K-12 schools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC).
This guidance applies to all HIDOE schools, offices and facilities. A summary of the recent changes can be found on page 7 and include:
- There is no mention of physical distancing as a mitigation strategy.
- Probable cases (i.e., no positive test result) and COVID-19 cases that have not impacted schools do not need to be reported unless they are associated with an outbreak. When there is a suspected cluster of cases or outbreak, schools still must notify all impacted staff and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of students.
- When someone tests positive for COVID-19, schools are not required to notify staff and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of students. Positive cases are publicly reported online.
- CDC COVID-19 community level is no longer described as an indicator for mitigation strategies.
- “Stay home when sick” applies more generally to when someone has symptoms of illness; not just COVID-19.
