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Oregon COVID-19 Youth Testing Programs

This fall, your student’s school may be participating in the follow optional programs COVID-19 testing programs.

All voluntary testing programs will continue to be provided at no cost to students or schools. ODE and OHA strongly encourages all schools to participate in these programs through the 2022-2023 school year. The goal of these programs is to help maximize in-person learning days for all students and offer critical access to testing to reduce spread of COVID-19 in our schools.

Please contact your student’s school regarding school’s participation status in these programs and to provide consent for student participation.

K-12 Schools

Diagnostic Testing Program

Diagnostic testing is for individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 or those who have been exposed to COVID-19 through close contact with a case. OHA and ODE recommend that all K-12 schools in Oregon offering in-person instruction offer free, on-site COVID-19 diagnostic testing through the COVID-19 Testing in Oregon’s K-12 Schools Program. Testing will help to quickly identify COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools and slow spread through classrooms and households.

For some students, COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools may represent their only access to a diagnostic COVID-19 test and the importance of this access cannot be overstated. Because both students and staff spend many hours at school on a typical day, it is possible that they may develop new symptoms such as fever or cough while at school. In addition, when a student or staff member is diagnosed with COVID-19, their cohorts (e.g., classroom, reading group, chess club) may be considered exposed and testing may be recommended by the local public health authority.

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Student Screening Program

​Screening testing is testing for individuals without symptoms of COVID-19 or exposure to COVID-19. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA), in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), will continue to offer free screening testing for COVID-19 to all Oregon K-12 schools during the 2021-2022 academic year. Participating schools will have the option to offer students weekly screening for classroom cohorts (e.g., a second-grade classroom), extracurricular cohorts (e.g., a chess club or football team), or both. All interested K-12 schools and students are welcome to enroll, regardless of vaccination status. The program will be administered by regional laboratory partners and details will vary by region.

Staff Screening Program

Oregon Health Authority is launching a free COVID-19 testing project for K-12 staff in order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools. This project offers free weekly screening testing by mail to any unvaccinated public or private K-12 staff. Testing is not recommended for vaccinated K-12 staff because the risk of COVID-19 in vaccinated individuals is very low. Participation is voluntary, and K-12 staff can opt-out at any time.

All testing will be mailed directly to the homes of K-12 staff and will be confidential. The COVID-19 test will be performed at home by gently swabbing just inside the nose. The swab is then returned to the laboratory by mail and results are returned to participants within days. To participate in this staff screening project, please complete the enrollment form found here.

Following enrollment, you will be sent an email by our laboratory partner to complete the registration process.

Summer Camps

Summer 2022 Testing Information
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Youth Residential Behavioral Health Facilities

​​​To further mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in Oregon’s residential youth facilities, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in partnership with the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) will support COVID-19 testing for youth/staff upon entry to inform cohorting, who display symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to COVID-19. It is strongly recommended that all residential youth facilities in Oregon offer free, on-site COVID-19 testing through this program. For some individuals, this program may represent their only access to timely COVID-19 testing and the importance of this access cannot be overstated.​

Events

Past events

9/9 Webinar: Training for K12 and Youth Testing Programs

Watch the recording

8/31 Webinar: Administering Diagnostic and Screening Tests in K-12 Schools

Watch the recording

Contact us

School Testing Program

schooltesting.covid@odhsoha.oregon.gov

School Screening Program

COVIDScreening.Schools@odhsoha.oregon.gov