12 Southern Nevada charter schools to offer rapid COVID-19 testing

At least 12 Southern Nevada public charter schools will soon begin offering on-site rapid COVID-19 testing.

The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority worked with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to get the necessary permissions to provide testing at school sites using Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNOW tests.

Individual schools are deciding whether to participate in the program and, if so, which employees or students will be tested. Results will be available roughly 15 minutes after the test is taken.

Two schools — Oasis Academy in Fallon and The Honors Academy of Literature in Reno — are already offering the tests, with at least a dozen schools in Southern Nevada expected to begin their programs soon.

“The (sites) in the south have not yet received their testing kits,” charter authority Executive Director Rebecca Feiden said in an email this week. “Once those are received some final inspection steps will be completed before those sites are operational as well. We expect that to occur by April 1.”

Participating Las Vegas-area schools are Amplus Academy’s two campuses, Democracy Prep at the Agassi campus, Freedom Classical Academy, Futuro Academy, Imagine Schools at Mountain View, Mater Academy’s three campuses, Silver Sands Montessori Charter School, Sports Leadership and Management Academy, and Pinecrest Academy Cadence.

The state’s Division of Public and Behavioral Health will use a federal grant to purchase test kits and will continue the testing operation at least through June, said Shannon Litz, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

There are some administrative costs to the charter authority for lab fees and participating schools had to pay for employees who are performing the tests to obtain necessary certifications, Feiden said.

The Clark County School District has been conducting mandatory random COVID-19 testing for about 10 percent to 20 percent of its employees on a monthly basis. In February, the school board approved a $2 million contract with Fulgent Genetics for testing and the cost is covered using federal emergency funds.

Las Vegas-area public charter schools began the school year with 100 percent distance education but started bringing up small numbers of students to campuses in October using a hybrid model — half-day sessions or alternating which days students have in-person classes.

In late February – shortly after Gov. Steve Sisolak announced capacity increases in school buildings - the authority’s board removed a requirement that schools could only operate with up to 40 percent of students on campus at any given time.

Now, schools don’t have a limit on how many students can attend in-person classes, but must follow state directives.

At Pinecrest Academy Cadence in Henderson, the school will use test kits primarily for students participating in full-contact high school sports that require weekly testing under Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association rules.

Currently, that would impact about 25 football players, Principal Jessica LeNeave said, while noting that additional sports beginning in April will involve at least 20 more students.

There aren’t any plans to do mandatory random testing for employees or students at the school, LeNeave said, but she’s hoping the school will be able to offer optional testing for employees.

Up until this point, employees and students in need have sought their own COVID-19 testing at community testing sites or through their health care providers.

LeNeave said she’s grateful for the partnership with the charter school authority. She said it will be a big help for parents who have a high schooler playing a sport that requires weekly testing.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.