Tennessee will post Covid-19 numbers by school next week – WDEF News 12

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) After weeks of debate, Gov. Bill Lee says Tennessee will begin posting Covid-19 information about individual schools after all.

State officials announced that they would do this weeks ago, but switched course over HIPPA guideline concerns.

Now the Tennessee Department of Education says they have prepared a new online portal that will debut next week.

The site will report Covid-19 information for districts and schools.

Parents and community members are working to make informed decisions, and we have determined the best path that balances informed decision making with our obligation to student privacy, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

We believe this resource will not only help parents but will inform how COVID-19 is affecting student attendance, chronic absenteeism and overall student attainment.

The last two districts in the state return to class next week.

Up until now, the state has left reporting cases by schools up to the individual systems.

Some in our area, like Bradley County, Cleveland City and Polk County post a weekly breakdown by school.

But Hamilton County has chosen not to release numbers for individual schools.

Now Tennessee has worked out details that they believe will ensure student privacy.

Schools with 50 or fewer students will not be included on the site.

And schools reporting under five positive cases will not have the actual number listed.

The district report will include the number of new cases, in-person learning status and whether the system is using the critical infrastructure designation to keep staff members working who have been exposed to the virus, but are not showing symptoms.

Excerpt from:

Tennessee will post Covid-19 numbers by school next week - WDEF News 12