ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH LAUNCHES TEST TO STAY PROGRAM WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ERIE COUNTY, NY – Beginning this week, the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) launched the Test to Stay program with 17 Erie County school districts and 11 non-public schools. These schools expressed an interest in implementing the Test to Stay option for their students, and will work closely with the ECDOH Epidemiology School Team to coordinate testing and data reporting. ECDOH shared information with these schools on how to pick up a supply of COVID-19 test kits, and the department hopes that many schools will begin this program by the end of the week.

The Test to Stay program allows students, who would otherwise be subject to quarantine at home, to attend classes following an in-school COVID-19 exposure, as long as they remain symptom free. Additional documentation from NYSDOH indicates that school staff are also eligible for this program. ECDOH is incorporating this and other updates into its protocols, and will communicate these and future anticipated updates regularly to participating schools. 

Participating schools and school districts include*:

Alden Central School District

Akron Central School District

Amherst Central School District

Buffalo Public Schools

Cheektowaga Central School District

Cheektowaga Maryvale UFSD

Cheektowaga-Sloan Union Free School District

Clarence Central School District

Cleveland Hill UFSD

Depew UFSD

East Aurora UFSD

Eden Central School District

Erie 1 BOCES

Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES

Evans-Brant (Lake Shore) Central School District

Frontier Central School District

Grand Island Central School District

Hamburg Central School District

Iroquois Central School District

Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda UFSD

Lackawanna City School District

Lancaster Central School District

North Collins Central School District

Orchard Park Central School District

Springville-GI Central School District

Sweet Home Central School District

Tonawanda City Schools

Williamsville Central School District

West Seneca Central School District

Aurora Waldorf School

Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School

Buffalo Collegiate Charter School

Buffalo Seminary

Canisius High School

Christ the King School

Christian Central Academy

Elmwood Franklin School

Enterprise Charter School

Mount Mercy Academy

Nardin Academy

Nativity of Mary School

Nichols School

The Park School of Buffalo

St. Francis High School

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute

St. Mary's High School

Sacred Heart Academy

South Buffalo Catholic School

South Buffalo Charter School

The Summit Center

Tapestry Charter School

West Buffalo Charter School

*This list is accurate as of 10p.m. on January 21, 2022. ECDOH expects other schools and school districts to participate in the coming weeks. Please contact your school's administrator for more information.

ECDOH also coordinates COVID-19 screening and proximate testing programs with a number of schools in Erie County. Parents and families should contact their child’s school principal or administration for information about what options are offered at their school.

Schools and school districts with a Limited Service License and medical director can email TTS@erie.gov to participate in Test to Stay. ECDOH is coordinating an option for schools without an LSL to have access to a license from a third-party. Schools can also email TTS@erie.gov to ask about that option.

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ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine info & clinic schedule: http://www.erie.gov/vax

ECDOH, COVID-19 Information Line: (716) 858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available

ECDOH, COVID-19 Weekly Data Updates: https://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=covid-19-media-data

New York State Department of Health, COVID-19 Boosters: http://ny.gov/boosters

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