D.C. Public Schools is requiring all staff and students to take a COVID-19 test and produce a negative result before returning to the classroom after school resumes on Feb. 27. DCPS has routinely required a negative result, in an attempt to keep the community free of COVID-19 and prevent school shutdowns.

Schools were expected to distribute test kits from Feb. 15 to 17. Families can also pick up a rapid or PCR test at one of the city’s COVID Centers (or even a public library before the city discontinues that program next week).  All DCPS families are expected to produce test results within 24 hours of returning to class; they can upload results online.

People who test positive cannot report to school in-person, and are asked to follow all isolation guidance from DC Health.

“In implementing our Safe Return testing program in December and February, we were able to keep our schools open as students, families, and staff returned to the classroom following week-long breaks,” says Chancellor Lewis Ferebee in a statement. “Our priority is to keep our students safely learning in the classroom, where we know they learn best. We appreciate the partnership of our entire community to collectively take this step to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.”

The school system has successfully had tens of thousands of students test for COVID-19 before, despite some logistical challenges of distributing the tests early on. And a relatively small percentage of students and staff have tested positive; An estimated 5% of tested students were infected while 7% of staffers were after they returned from break in January 2022, according to the Post, however there were some inconsistencies in the data.

The test-to-return policy remains one of the few COVID-19 safety protocols the school system still practices. DCPS has eased several protocols, as have many other institutions in D.C. and across the country, after vaccination led to a reduction in community spread, as well as serious illness and death.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of COVID-19 in D.C. remains low.