COVID-19 FAQs

If you are a CPS student or staff, please self report your positive case to cps.edu/COVIDresults. Please stay home and isolate from others for at least five days after the positive test. If symptom-free after day five, students and staff can return to school wearing a mask for days 6-10 after their positive test. If symptoms remain after day five, please continue to isolate until symptoms resolve, then return to school wearing a mask until day 10 after the positive test

Students and staff who are identified as close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be able to stay in school, but will be required to wear a mask for 10 days following exposure. CPS will provide any CPS staff or student who has been identified as a close contact with two rapid at-home COVID-19 tests; CPS strongly recommends testing on the immediate Monday and Thursday following exposure. If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, please refer to the previous question.

If you or your student have tested positive, testing again for the illness is unnecessary. A negative test is not required to return to school after isolation.

PCR testing is generally not recommended for 90 days after testing positive unless symptoms develop. This is because COVID-19 antibodies can remain in the body for up to 90 days after contracting COVID and may produce a false positive test.

In high schools, a close contact is anyone who has been within six feet of the someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or longer within a 24-hour period. 

In elementary schools, due to behavioral patterns of younger students, anyone who was in a classroom with an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 is considered a close contact. 

Those identified as close contacts can stay in school as long as they mask for ten days after exposure and remain asymptomatic. It is recommended that students who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 should test the Monday and Thursday or Thursday and Monday immediately after exposure.

Please isolate yourself from this member of your household to the extent this is possible, and get tested for COVID-19. Contact your primary care provider for a test or use an at-home rapid test. You should mask around others for 10 days from your last date of exposure. Test five days after your latest exposure or test immediately if you develop symptoms.

They should submit the info (copy of the card) to the student's school. A school nurse will enter the dates into our student information system.

CPS also works with CDPH to collect vaccination data for individual students on a regular basis.  This data is entered into our student information system on a recurring basis.

All Chicagoans aged six months and up can get vaccinated. Everyone aged six years and older should get one updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date. People aged 65 years and older may get a 2nd dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Visit this resource from the Chicago Department of Public Health for more complete information. No proof of insurance or citizenship is required at CPS-managed locations..

COVID-19 can make children very sick and cause children to be hospitalized. It can cause both short and long- term health complications, and in some cases, even death. Children infected with COVID-19 can spread it to others, including more vulnerable people like older people and those with underlying health conditions.

Your child may have some side effects, which are normal signs that their body is building protection against COVID-19. On the arm where your child got the shot, your child may experience temporary pain, redness and swelling. Throughout the rest of their body, they may experience temporary tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, or nausea. These side effects may affect your child’s ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days. There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility. Severe allergic reactions are rare. If your child experiences a severe allergic reaction after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine providers can rapidly provide care and call for emergency medical services, if needed.

No, people cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines. While COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly to meet the worldwide demand for protection from the virus, all steps have been taken to ensure their safety and effectiveness. COVID-19 vaccines have undergone and continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history, which includes studies about adolescents and children. For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s resources on COVID-19 vaccination for children and teens.

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available. You can talk to your child’s pediatrician or medical provider, or make an appointment by visiting vaccines.gov, texting your zip code to 438829; or calling 1-800-232-0233. For a list of vaccine opportunities through CPS, please view the opportunities listed on cps.edu/vaccination.

Currently, the vaccine will remain widely available and free for CPS students, families and staff at CPS-run vaccine events. However, with the expiration of the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 on May 11, 2023,  medical providers outside CPS may begin charging Chicagoans to receive a vaccine, so it is important to consult your provider and/or your insurance company to determine if you will be charged a fee for receiving the vaccine.

It depends on the type of vaccine and the age of your child. Visit this resource from the Chicago Department of Public Health for more information.

The “bivalent booster” is the most up-to-date vaccine to protect you from COVID-19. If you have not been vaccinated yet, please get this vaccine as soon as possible. If you have already had a COVID vaccine dose, please visit this resource from the Chicago Department of Public Health to see when you should get your next vaccine dose.

The “bivalent booster” is the most up-to-date vaccine to protect you from COVID-19. For more information, visit this resource from the Chicago Department of Public Health.

CPS has partnered with Thermo Fisher to offer free, regular testing to students and staff for COVID-19. Regular testing means that testing is offered to everyone on a weekly basis, even if they don’t have symptoms of COVID-19.

Please go to the Color website at color.com/readycheckgo-cps and select whether you are registering for a staff member or student. You can then search for your school name for your school's unique sign-up link. Please fill out the information required to sign up. City Wide employees should search "City Wide Employees" and use that link to register.

Yes. Testing consent forms from last year have expired. You must fill out a new consent form at color.com/readycheckgo-cps for this year. Once consent is given using this form, the individual will remain consented to testing until they leave CPS.

No, COVID-19 tests are optional, although strongly encouraged, especially for those who are unvaccinated. Students will not be tested without both the student and guardian giving their consent.

Please stay home and isolate from others for at least five days after the positive test. If fever-free after day five, students and staff can return to school wearing a mask for days 6-10 after their positive test. If a fever remains after day five, please continue to isolate until symptoms resolve, then return to school wearing a mask until day 10 after the positive test. Note: If your student or you test positive for COVID-19 through the in-school testing program, you do not have to report the case to CPS; the case is automatically reported through the program.

You will be notified if you or your child is deemed a “close contact” of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Those who are deemed to be close contacts will be able to stay in school, but will be required to wear a mask for 10 days following exposure. CPS will provide any CPS staff or student who has been identified as a close contact with two rapid at-home COVID-19 tests; CPS strongly recommends testing on the immediate Monday and Thursday following exposure. If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, please refer to the previous question.

Testing will be offered to all staff and students weekly.

CPS will offer testing on-site at schools during the school day on a weekly basis.

The COVID-19 tests will be free to students and staff. You will never receive a bill, and your insurance will not be charged.

The test will involve a nasal swab. It is a quick and easy test. This nasal test gently swabs the inner part of the lower nostril. The test is not painful. We do not use the longer swabs that reach higher into the nose. There will be medical personnel on site to supervise swabbing and support students if needed.

Collection of samples (swabbing) will be conducted by students/staff unless participants need assistance. In this instance, the onsite medical staff, which are experienced medical clinicians can administer sample collection.

Testing will take place at school in a location designated by the school principal where social distancing can be easily observed. Each school principal will receive a notification from Thermo Fisher with the date and time and will share this information with the whole school community. Dates and times for weekly in-school testing can be found here by searching your school. 

The results of the test should be available within 24-48 hrs.

Our testing program uses a PCR test, which does not provide immediate results because it is sent to a lab for analysis.

Parents/guardians and staff can visit color.com/readycheckgo-cps to register and sign a virtual consent to be tested. Please reach out to your school principal or covidtestingcps@cps.edu if you did not receive a link or would like to request a paper copy.

No, once you have registered and consented once, you do not need to resubmit registration before testing each week. Consent will remain in place until a student or staff member leaves CPS.

Email readycheckgo@color.com with subject line “Testing Opt Out” and the information below.

Student: 

• First Name, Last Name, DOB, School Name
• Parent/Guardian First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Phone Number

• First Name, Last Name, DOB, School Name

No. For the health and safety of the entire school community, anyone with COVID-like symptoms should stay home and contact their primary care provider for a test or use an at-home rapid test. Screening testing is only for asymptomatic individuals. 

If you or your student have tested positive, testing again for the illness is unnecessary. A negative test is not required to return to school after isolation.

If you have an exposure within 90 days of testing positive, you should use rapid tests to see if you have contracted COVID. However, PCR testing is generally not recommended for 90 days after testing positive unless symptoms develop. This is because COVID-19 antibodies can remain in the body for up to 90 days after contracting COVID and may produce a false positive test.

Regular testing is a safe, effective way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help keep our schools open for in-person learning. Many people with COVID-19, especially children and teens, don’t have symptoms but can still spread the virus, so regular testing helps find infections before they can spread to others. Regular testing will help us keep students and staff in the classroom and allow students to take part in the other activities they love.

Positive results will be shared with the principal at the school or a staff member’s direct supervisor so they understand why you are going home and can put in place classroom coverage and the communications protocol as needed.

Results of the PCR test are shared with the person who tested, the district for contact tracing purposes, and state health authorities as required by law.

Chicago Public Schools will follow precautions prescribed by public health agencies. All testing staff will perform hand hygiene before testing and wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). This includes an APR or N95 mask, face shield, gloves, and medical gown for healthcare staff assisting with specimen collection, and face masks and additional items for other team members. All PPE and testing-related materials will be properly disposed of once testing is completed, followed by additional hand hygiene. Hand sanitizer is available to everyone who participates in testing, and the testing team has access to a handwashing facility with soap and water.

A student can refuse to be tested even if their parent has consented. They can simply decline the test when it is offered to them during the school day. 

No, testing shouldn’t interfere with your student’s school schedule. The test is quick and easy, and students will be able to fit the test into their day without disrupting learning. The entire testing process should take approximately five minutes.

Your school is responsible for providing supervision for your classroom during your ten-minute testing window.

• Phone: 844-658-0388, Option 1
• Email: readycheckgo@color.com
• Daily, 8:00am - 7:00pm CST

Yes. CPS has a vaccine mandate in place for all employees and vendors, unless the employee or vendor has a religious or medical exemption. Being fully vaccinated means having completed your primary COVID vaccine series (either two shots of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or one shot of J&J’s Janssen vaccine) plus the recommended booster shot. For more information on vaccines and boosters, please use this resource from the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Weekly testing is available for all staff but not vendors. To sign up for weekly testing, please go to the Color website at color.com/readycheckgo-cps and select whether you are registering for a staff member or student. You can then search for your school name for your school's unique sign-up link. Please fill out the information required to sign up. City Wide employees should search "City Wide Employees" and use that link to register.

CPS staff can visit cps.edu/staffvax to submit proof of vaccination. 

CPS staff can visit cps.edu/booster to submit proof of booster shot.

CPS staff can apply for a religious or medical exemption from the vaccination mandate by using this link.

Yes. All vendor employees must comply with this mandate.

This varies by vendor. Vendor employees must provide proof to their employer. CPS cannot accept vaccination documentation.

CPS is not accepting any documentation. Vendors must attest that they will comply with CPS vendor vaccination requirements in the CPS Supplier Portal.