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Students with non-fever symptoms won’t be sent home at D49 school

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- In an email obtained by KRDO, Horizon Middle School's nurse outlined to staff at the school that students showing symptoms like a sore throat, cough or runny nose won't be sent home.

According to the email, only students with a fever will be sent home.

The email goes on to say the nurse's office is "seeing a ridiculous amount of unnecessary Health Room visits so far this year."

Horizon Middle School does not create these guidelines themselves, rather they are rules developed by Falcon District 49.

The email says, "as a Health Room, we are required to follow the direction of this document as it outlines the exact reasons we are allowed to send students home."

Last week, we reported that Horizon Middle School had 12 COVID-19 positive cases at the school.

D49 has stood by their decision to not report individual COVID-19 positive cases at its schools.

Peter Hilts, District 49's Chief Education Officer said, "We have taken the position that we are not reporting single cases, the county health department is fully aware. They have known since early may."

School District 49's decision not to report individual cases to El Paso County health is due to the fear that they will be forced to over-quarantine. They say this will have an adverse effect on their mental health.

"We know that we over quarantined last school year, and we know that the disruption of those mitigation efforts turns out to have been more harmful than the disruption of the disease process itself," Hilts went on to say.

A parent told KRDO he has pulled both of his children from two D49 schools because of the districts "poor handling of positive COVID cases" at its schools.

Currently, students are not required to wears masks. Although unvaccinated students are encouraged to wear a mask on school grounds.

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Sean Rice

Sean is reporter with the 13 Investigates team. Learn more about him here.

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