We should follow the guidelines of the DHHS and CDC. There is a simple matrix to follow, and we have not done so in this district.

I think it is important for us to be guided by CDC and DHHS recommendations. As conditions change during this pandemic we need to be flexible and adaptable to respond in a way that best protects the students and faculty.

This issue is still a little bit challenging, because the CDC's recommendation and our state recommendation are currently different. District leaders are not epidemiologists. As a result, I lean towards following the New Hampshire DHHS guidelines, as state epidemiologists have the best picture of our current Covid landscape here in NH and have designed their recommendations accordingly.

School districts are not made up of scientists and researchers who have dedicated their careers to the study of human health and the effects of disease and illnesses. We need to adhere to the advice of the people whose job it is to educate the country on best health practices when it comes to travel and quarantine. I can understand why many might be frustrated with the constantly changing information coming from these groups but when you're dealing with an unprecedented, once in a lifetime health crisis then you need to be flexible. Choosing your own path that doesn't align with national guidance can create confusion and inconsistencies

A year ago, while this environment was very new, developing one's own policy based on the unique needs of the facility's environment made sense. At this time I feel it is more appropriate to follow the guidelines presented by NH DHHS for both travel and quarantine to better align with the research and data that has been collected regarding the virus that causes COVID-19. This allows for a more data-based approach to development of policies and protocols. Also, the data is constantly changing and having a policy that allows for the adherence to the NH DHHS allows the policy to be maintained with the most up to date data and changes. If the situation is not defined by the NH DHHS parameters, the protocol should fall onto the CDC recommendations. I do not feel that falling directly on the CDC is appropriate (before NH DHHS) since NH may have a different protocol based on the current COVID environment of NH.

Several times in the recent months, the School District has not maintained guidelines per the CDC and/or NH DHHS recommendations and have chosen to follow their own protocols. This has not only created confusion and inconsistencies between the schools but has also meant that the district is unnecessarily keeping students and teachers from attending school despite the present data regarding spread. One examples of this is when they maintained the 14 days quarantine despite both CDC and NH DHHS switching to a 10-day recommendation. Another example is that they continue to send entire classrooms home for many of our schools despite CDC and NH DHHS following data from recent studies that state that in a controlled classroom setting with consistent mask use, a direct contact is defined as only those within 3 feet of the COVID positive individual for a cumulative of 10min over 24hrs. While in younger classrooms, such as preschool and kindergarten, this may be needed due to the possible lack of the ability to maintain a \"controlled environment\" or have \"consistent mask use\" this protocol should be limited to certain grades (or even assessing based on the specific classrooms activities during days of exposure).

k-12-back-to-school.pdf (nh.gov) - https://www.covidguidance.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt381/files/inline-documents/sonh/k-12-back-to-school.pdf

covid-school-toolkit.pdf (nh.gov) - https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/covid19/documents/covid-school-toolkit.pdf

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/alerts/documents/covid-19-update38.pdf

The DHHS has been consistently guiding schools as data and situations change. The current recommendation of both the CDC and DHHS is that travel quarantines for domestic travel are unnecessary. As such we should allow those who have the expertise make that decision.

I believe we should follow the DHHS guidance. Just as the administration should be focused on their own expertise; we should follow the guidance of the experts.

We should follow the DHHS guidelines. This was already decided and being updated and I agree with this decision.

I support following the CDC and DHHS' current policies and keeping up-to-date with them as conditions change.

The CDC has been the main go-to authority on COVID, however their recommendations are based on entire population of the US. The NH DHHS policies are specific to the public health needs of NH. I would look to both entities for guidance and, when in doubt, mirror the DHHS policies. Merrimack's District policies should not be more stringent than what these entities have outlined. And when the recommendations change at the State level, Merrimack's policies should be updated accordingly in a timely manner so that they are clear and consistent with State guidelines.

I support that school policy/guidelines reflect current DHHS and CDC policy/guidelines. The district should not adopt separate policies, unless there is a need driven by local cases/data that would support a local revision to pointing to DHHS guidelines.