State announces free COVID-19 tests for all public school employees

Task Force Initiative for Educator’s Safety and Screening (T.I.E.S) is a free program for “participating educators, administrators, bus drivers, and school staff” and is being funded by a $13.2 million state allocation of federal CARES Act money, the Education Department said in a news release.

An “aggressive timeline for implementation” will begin this month by encouraging employees enroll in the program using a mobile app powered by emocha Health, according to the release.

THT Health, formerly known as Teachers Health Trust, developed the T.I.E.S. program and is administering it. The plan is designed to “facilitate school reopening, COVID testing, and symptoms monitoring through a comprehensive, evidence-based and agile approach,” according to the Monday statement.

“On behalf of Nevada’s educators, administrators, and staff, I want to thank Governor Sisolak and the Legislature for their investment in this tremendous resource,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert said in the Monday statement. “We are so pleased that all of our school staff, including bus drivers, administrative support and others have access to these preventative services to help keep our schools and communities healthy.”

THT Health formed a task force in March to create a COVID-19 testing program. Its approximately 18 members include health officials, school district and teachers union representatives.

The task force developed a four-step program for testing and risk management for CCSD’s roughly 40,000 employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The T.I.E.S. program was originally designed to serve CCSD employees, but state officials requested an expanded program to serve all the state’s 17 school districts and public charter schools.

For more information about Nevada T.I.E.S., email info@nevadaties.org or visit nevadaties.org.

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