State OKs Framingham Student Coronavirus Testing Program

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Some Framingham students are set to return to school buildings this week, and the school district just received notice the state will pay for about two months of coronavirus testing for students.

In January, Framingham applied to take part in a state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) program to provide pooled coronavirus testing. The district got approval at the end of last week, according to Superintendent Robert Tremblay.

The pooled testing will be conducted by classroom. If there's a positive test, just the class it came from can be removed from a school, theoretically allowing the district to avoid shutting down whole buildings. DESE is funding the program through March 28, but Framingham plans to continue funding the program after that date.

"Pooled testing involves mixing several test samples together in a 'batch' or 'pool' and then testing the pooled sample with a PCR test for detection of [coronavirus]," DESE said of the testing method.

Two groups of high-learning needs students are set to return to school buildings on Thursday, according to the district. Those students will be asked to fill out consent forms for the pooled testing, Tremblay told parents in a letter on Friday. Those students will also be offered individual PCR tests.

Tremblay said general education students may begin returning to buildings under a hybrid model after February vacation, which runs the week of Feb. 15. If that happens, it would be the first time general education students have been in buildings since the pandemic hit the area in March 2020.

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