Lee County Schools announce they will not be requiring temperature checks

The School District of Lee County officials announced in a letter Friday, that was also posted on social media, that it will not be checking the temperatures of students as they arrive at school.

The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report for superintendents throughout. In the report, the chapter says it does not support temperature checks in schools. “The FCAAP does not recommend temperature checks at school. It is expensive, time-consuming and not sensitive for early infection,” the report stated.

Pediatricians and other experts from the Florida Department of Health in Lee County have also recommended the removal of temperature checks from schools, citing a list of reasons.

The first being the temperature is only one of the symptoms that children may experience. Infected kids are just as likely to be asymptomatic as they are to have a fever was another reason they used. Also that most patients transfer the virus within a few days prior to actually developing symptoms.

So now, armed with this new evidence, Lee County schools will no longer be doing temperature checks. Instead, in accordance with the report sent out by FCAAP, they recommend checking your child’s temperature at home before sending them to school and keeping them home if they have a temperature or any COVID-19 symptoms.

If parents wish to update their choice of an educational model for the upcoming school year based on this new decision, Lee County Schools recommends calling your child’s individual school.

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Masks have made their way to the school supply list for many parents this year. Lisa Burrows has already told her daughter she’ll need to keep her mask on.

“She knows she’s gonna have to wear her mask all day,” said Burrows.

She tried to make sure she got some fun prints her daughter would like. “I did buy a couple that have like unicorns and purple with stars on them and things like that and that helps,” she said.

Another way to make mask-wearing feel more normal for kids is to make it a part of their daily routine, according to Dr. Stephanie Stovall from Golisano’s Children’s Hospital.

“If they have a particular day that they are allowed for instance screen time— make a rule that they have to put the mask on if they’re going to continue their screen time,” Dr. Stoval said.

Denise Crespo is also trying to prepare her 15-year-old son for back to school this year.

“He’s following the rules, he’s dealing with it— I don’t know how these kids are gonna do it for 6 hours 7 hours a day so that’s gonna be tough,” Crespo said.

Lee County schools announced Friday they would no longer be taking the temperature of children at school. Crespo says she’s glad about the decision. “Taking the temperatures is a good thing but it’s going to be very time consuming,” she said.

Dr. Stoval says if you’re planning on sending your children back to school, to make sure they understand the importance of handwashing. She adds that your child probably only needs one or two masks unless they participate in sports or other outdoor activities. She also recommends letting your child pick out their own masks and having backups in their backpack.