Belton ISD Informs Parents of Change in Status of Two Students Being Monitored After Ebola Connection

Belton ISD sent an email to parents Wednesday evening at 8:57pm informing them of a change in the attendance status of two district students that were on the Frontier Airlines flight from Cleveland to Dallas that also carried the nurse now being treated for Ebola.

After hundreds of critical comments flooded the Belton ISD Facebook feed and phone lines the district has announced in an email to parents that the students will not be attending school for 21 days from the date of Monday's flight.  The decision came from the students' parents, according to the email.

Read the email sent to parents below:

Dear Parents,

I would like to update you on the health advisories that were sent to parents of students at Sparta Elementary and North Belton Middle School.

This afternoon we were made aware that two of our students traveled on Frontier Airlines Flight #1143 from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday and attended classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Another passenger on that flight has since been diagnosed with the Ebola virus.

While the state and local health departments have cleared these students to attend school, their parents have decided to keep their children at home for 21 days from the day that they took the flight.

Even though the two students will not be in class, I want to emphasize that the state and local health departments have determined that they are considered to be at extremely low risk.

It is safe for your students to attend school.

Regular school attendance is essential for students to make the most of their learning, and absences may disrupt a student’s mastery of the materials.

I’ve received some questions about absences and wanted to clarify that our normal attendance policy will be in effect tomorrow. You can find the policy online in our parent and student handbooks.

We already have plans in place to address communicable diseases. Our health services coordinator regularly reviews those procedures with the nurses and other staff members at each school. Our custodial staff will also be doing additional cleaning and disinfecting in classrooms at the two schools.

Please know that I remain in close communication with the family and officials from the state and local health departments. Keeping you up-to-date is a priority for me, and if more information becomes available, we will share it with you.

Tomorrow will be a great day in our schools, and I hope that your student will be there!

Parents, does this change your mind on school tomorrow morning for kids at schools involved?

Check back for regular updates as they become available.