DHS: Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools

This guidance is a resource for local and tribal health departments as they investigate and control cases and outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools (grades K-12) in their jurisdictions. It provides recommendations that health departments can provide directly to school district administrators and staff to help prevent and control school outbreaks, and make decisions about when to move between different learning models.

This tool builds on existing guidance provided in Education Forward, Wisconsin’s roadmap for operating schools during a pandemic, as published by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). DHS’ goals remain in line with those articulated in the DPI guidance, with a focus on keeping students and staff physically safe. In its guidance, DPI urges schools to develop instructional models that accommodate shifts between in-person and virtual learning. The guidance describes considerations across three different learning environments (in-person, physically distanced, and virtual learning), recognizing there are many variations within each of these options and that schools may need to shift rapidly between each option. Table 1 provides a brief description of each model.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) developed these recommendations with input from multiple sources, including the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), review of available literature, and guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For additional guidance on school reopening and specific infection prevention recommendations, refer to the CDC, DPI, and DHS websites.