D128 Students Will Get COVID-19 Tests

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — District 128 is among a growing number of school districts that will be offering COVID-19 tests to students and staff when they begin with a hybrid schedule next week.

During a Jan. 4 District 128 Board of Education meeting, the school board approved a contract with Passport Health to purchase Abbott's newest diagnostic test, BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card, directly from Abbott, wrote Superintendent Prentiss Lea in a letter to D128 parents. Passport will administer the tests and provide all testing services at Libertyville and Vernon Hills high school

Testing will be voluntary and provided weekly to students and staff on site at the high schools. The test delivers results from a self-collected nasal swab within about 20 minutes.

District 128 officials are urging participation, but unlike some Chicago area school districts, are not requiring testing at this time.

"...it is critical to have a very high level of student participation to making the testing effective in our efforts to open our schools and keep our schools open," according to school officials. "As such, we strongly encourage parents who have elected to have their children return to school to enroll their children in the weekly BinaxNow testing program."

Staff testing began this past Monday and student testing will start on Tuesday, which is when students are expected to being hybrid learning.

D128 is planning to continue with its hybrid plan unless there is an order by Gov. J.B. Pritzker or a "related authority," according to a Nov. 23 letter from district officials to parents.

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