The District’s public school system probably tested just 4 percent of students attending in-person classes in its asymptomatic testing program in the spring, falling short of city and federal health suggestions, according to a new report from the Office of the D.C. Auditor.
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When the city rolled out its asymptomatic testing program last March, it suggested it would test 10 percent of students attending in-person learning at every school each week. The city’s policy is to test 10 percent of students who submitted consent forms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says schools may test at least 10 percent of unvaccinated students or conduct regular pool testing as part of a mitigation strategy against the coronavirus.
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Out of the 10,000 students who attended in-person learning in the spring, just 3,851 submitted the necessary consent forms in March to undergo asymptomatic testing, according to data shared by the school system in the spring. Schools that had the fewest number of returned consent forms had the smallest percentage of their student body tested.
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The auditor’s office does not know how many students D.C. actually tested in the spring and is basing its conclusion off the city’s policy to test 10 percent of students with consent forms. The administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said it is reviewing its internal numbers.
The goal of such asymptomatic testing programs is to provide a snapshot of the infection rate in schools, raising red flags if the figure is higher than the neighborhood that surrounds it.
The city announced last week that it would maintain a similar saliva-based testing program in the fall — testing 10 percent of students who submitted consent forms each week. The Bowser administration said on a call with D.C. Council members Friday that it is determining what conditions would trigger the city to increase the testing to 20 percent of students.
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At a news conference Monday, Bowser said she had not yet reviewed the auditor’s report.
Bowser and D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt did not explain why the city did not test a larger number of students who submitted consent forms to try to hit the 10 percent of the student population threshold.
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“You can set whatever goals you would like, but if parents don’t consent, we cannot go into the schools and test their kids,” Nesbitt said.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education is operating the school testing program this fall. Charter schools — which educate nearly 50 percent of the city’s public school population — can either opt into the city’s testing program or implement a testing program of their own.
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The superintendent’s office sent the testing consent form for the new academic year to school leaders Monday morning. The school system plans to send the consent forms to parents this week.
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D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee said in a statement that the system would “actively engage with families to explain the importance of asymptomatic testing for keeping our students safe. Forms will be available online and at in-person school events and will also be sent home with students during the first week of classes.”
Bowser said her administration is meeting daily about the opening of the school system on Aug. 30. She said school communities, parent groups and more need to be discussing what they can do to educate one another to help keep schools safe and open for in-person learning.
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“I am quite sure that DCPS is emphasizing the need for consent forms,” Bowser said. “But I don’t want to make this sound like a top-down discussion; this is a discussion among school communities as well.”
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As an alternative to random testing, some D.C. private and charter schools have turned to pool testing. That method takes samples from several people and tests them for the coronavirus all at once, cutting down on the time and supplies required. If the test detects the presence of the virus, then each person would have to be tested and the results individually analyzed.
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KIPP DC — the city’s largest charter network with more than 7,000 students — tested all in-person students each week last spring in a pooled testing model.
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Adam Rupe, a spokesman for the charter network, said KIPP DC required parents to consent to testing if they wanted their children to return in the spring. He said a few parents were uncomfortable with having their children take a nasal swab test.
The charter network — which started the academic year last week — plans to launch a similar pool-testing model next month, though this year the school will be doing saliva tests. Consent forms are not required as a condition of returning this fall, but Rupe said the majority of families have signed them.
Before the city launched the random testing program, it tested every in-person student beginning in December with a consent form — though it had few students learning in-person at the time.
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In March 2021, the city said it had completed 3,856 student coronavirus tests since December, with a positivity rate of 1.15 percent. The school system has said that, while it detected cases in schools in the spring, it did not find evidence of spread in school buildings.
The city also provides rapid coronavirus testing to any student or staff member who displays symptoms on campus.
The auditor’s report released Monday examined how the city reported overall coronavirus data to the public. The auditor determined that the city’s health department has built detailed systems to collect, analyze and report data. And while the auditor found many areas of strength of the city’s reporting system, the report said D.C. should publish better data on coronavirus cases and deaths tied to child-care facilities.
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