The South Orange-Maplewood School District has announced that all students traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday outside of the tri-state area plus Pennsylvania and Delaware will have to quarantine upon return for 10 days,

The rule excludes students who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, which means two weeks after their second dose.

Students who are not fully vaccinated and travel domestically or internationally will quarantine for ten days and will learn remotely at home. Alternatively, parents may choose to test their children for COVID-19. If the child tests negatively on days 3, 4, or 5 after returning from travel they only have to quarantine for seven days.

Here is the full statement from district offices:

Dear SOMSD Community,

As you are aware, the Thanksgiving Break is November 25 & 26, 2021. District schools and Central Office will be closed. Schools and District offices will reopen on Monday, November 29, 2021.

The District will collect information from parents/guardians of unvaccinated students who plan on traveling either domestically (outside of PA, NJ, NY, CT, DE) or outside of the United States during the Thanksgiving break. To keep our students, staff and community safe, unvaccinated students will need to quarantine before returning to school.

Note the following:

• UNVACCINATED students will be asked to quarantine for a full seven to ten days depending on testing.
• Quarantine may be seven full days if students test negative on days 3, 4, or 5 after returning from travel. If you choose not to test, quarantine is ten full days.
• This guidance is per our local SOMA Departments of Health as informed by NJDOH and CDC.
• If your child is fully vaccinated, they do NOT need to quarantine (unless they have symptoms).
• If you recently opted to have your child vaccinated in accordance with the new CDC endorsement and recommendation for children 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19 with the Pfizer pediatric vaccine, please note that your child will NOT be considered fully vaccinated until TWO WEEKS AFTER they receive their second dose of the vaccine (which is after we return from Thanksgiving Break).

Everyone’s continued compliance is necessary to keep the members of our school community healthy and safe.

Please refer to the communication sent to parents on Friday, October 22 for a full description of the requirements which are still applicable. [https://bit.ly/3pqq8rk]

During a student’s quarantine period, they will receive virtual instruction. Please note that we strive to minimize the disruption to student learning during the quarantine period by having systems in place for students to receive virtual instructional support that is commensurate with their normal school day. Again, it is imperative that families of UNVACCINATED students who plan to travel during the Thanksgiving break, outside of the PA, NJ, NY, CT, and DE areas fill out the Thanksgiving Break Travel Survey by Monday, November 22.

Thanksgiving Break Travel Survey:  https://forms.gle/FtgUW8h2hk8ihRAr5

South Orange & Maplewood School District