The COVID Policy
During my recent department meeting, I (along with my colleague faculty members) was told that there was a special Coronavirus positivity notification that we (faculty) would receive in the case that one of our students tested positive for the Coronavirus. The notification would identify the student.
If we received one of these notifications, we (faculty) could use the information to decide whether we ourselves wanted to pursue further remedies (e.g. getting tested, or requesting especial disinfection for the classroom, etc.). It was STRONGLY advised to not share the positive diagnosis with our students, because HIPPA.
There is an FAQ page about something adjacent to the topic:
What do I do if notified that a student has tested positive or has had a potential contact exposure to COVID-19?
If a student has tested positive for COVID-19 or come into contact with an infected individual, please instruct them to [report the case or exposure](https://www.towson.edu/coronavirus/report-covid.html) immediately, if they haven’t already, and await contact from the University Health Center (UHC).
Additionally, communicate directly with the student to remind them they may not report to class or campus until a UHC representative consults with them to determine appropriate quarantine or isolation protocols based on the case or exposure.
The University Health Center will take the lead in all contact tracing, if necessary, and will communicate directly with any students, faculty or staff that may require notification and/or follow-up.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to contact UHC with any questions and should avoid discussing or disclosing COVID-19 cases/exposures with other students or classes unless directed.
May I individually decide to switch my class from face-to-face to remote?
Faculty must seek approval from the chair, dean, and Office of the Provost to change course modality. Faculty with medical concerns should seek advice from their physician and if necessary, request a medical exemption through an ADA accommodation.
[Source: https://www.towson.edu/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions.html#clearance]
As I said, the FAQ does not specify HOW a faculty member would be notified. So I drafted and sent an email asking for that information:
Hey!
My name is Jeff Kenton, and I am an Associate Professor in the College of Education's Department of Educational Technology and Literacy.
During our most recent department meeting, my chair communicated to the faculty assembled that there is a notification process in place to let faculty members know if/when a student enrolled in a given class has tested positive for coronavirus. My chair then told us about several other measures that we should take, in light of a positive diagnosis.
I found the FAQ page here: https://www.towson.edu/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions.html#facultyinfo and it covers almost all of the material that we were told in the meeting.
There is a lengthy section about what to do once a faculty member is made aware of a student diagnosis. However, there is nothing described about HOW the faculty becomes aware of the positive diagnosis, and from whom.
Can there be any light shed on this, so I can pay especial attention to emails that might originate from the responsible office?
Thanks!
Jeff
HIPPA is not the proper invocation here, because the purpose of sharing the information about a positive diagnosis is not to identify the person who was diagnosed.
Rather, the purpose of sharing the notification is to afford students the same decision-making ability as the faculty member has. That is, if the faculty member is allowed to know THAT a COVID+ person was in their classroom, I feel strongly that EVERYONE should know THAT a COVID+ person was in the same classroom, without sharing any personal information. Sharing PERSONAL information WOULD BE covered by HIPPA, and punished as appropriate.
Check out this link for some related information about this type of situation
There is thus a need for folks to be able to communicate somehow that they had received a COVID+ notification, without telling anyone any personal information.
In the case of the National Security Letter (which gagged recipients from even acknowledging receipt of one), the solution I recall reading about was to remove a known/particular graphic element from a website.
For example, the memory I have is that a company had a picture of a flying dove, with an ivy sprig in its mouth. All viewers understood that upon receipt of an NSL, the picture of the dove would disappear from the website. All clients or interested folks would know about the intention of the disappeared image, and thus be told without being told directly.
The image above is how I think it might work:
- If you see the image, everything is copacetic
- If you don’t see the image, make a wise judgment for yourself (as a student) about getting tested or whatever
- Once the all-clear is given, the image goes back up
Wish me luck!