Parents of a 5-year-old kindergartner at Chula Vista Learning Community Charter Elementary said their daughter was tested for COVID-19, without them being present or notified before the test.
Two weeks ago, Tatiana Ortiz signed a consent form for her daughter to get free COVID testing through the Chula Vista Elementary School District.
The text sent to her phone mentioned testing from April 12-16 at the district office. It also states that if you register a student once -- you won’t have to register for additional testing at school.
“They said we had to make an appointment for our kids to get tested,” Ortiz said.
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But Ortiz said she had no idea testing would be done without her first being notified.
“I was really disappointed that I wasn’t told today that she was gonna get tested, Ortiz said. “I did sign the form. I did approve for them to do it, but I was never notified that she was going to get done today and without me being present.”
CVESD schools are using rapid antigen tests which give results in 15 minutes. The program is voluntary, and the district said it only tests students whose parents have consented.
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Testing will be scheduled every two weeks at the school, according to the district.
Ortiz found out her daughter tested negative Thursday when the results were sent to her phone.
“I want them to take responsibility for what they did and notify us as parents before they do these kinds of things to our kids because we’re not present,” Ortiz said. “The kids don’t know better. They’re minors.”
On top of that, the district confirmed Thursday that a student tested positive for COVID-19 and notified parents. Ortiz claims that student has a sibling in her daughter’s class and questions why the entire family of students isn’t being quarantined.
In a statement district spokesman Anthony Millican said:
“We cannot discuss individual students or additional details regarding the parent’s concerns about another student as we must ensure the confidentiality of all individuals on our campuses, including those who have tested positive for COVID-19 or come in direct contact.”
The parents have removed their daughter from voluntary testing. The district said the school will make communication clearer.
