Starting January 2022, HISD will provide free COVID-19 testing to all consenting HISD students and staff on participating campuses. This testing program is offered in partnership with the Houston Health Department and Fulgent Genetics. It will be available to any HISD student and campus staff with a digital consent form on file.
Testing is completely voluntary and requires the student’s parent/guardian to first provide a one-time consent by completing a digital consent form available here. HISD students and campus staff 18 years or older may give consent by completing the form through the provided link.
To give consent to participate in the COVID-19 testing program, please follow these steps:
- Go to https://bit.ly/HISDC19Test and click on the “begin” button to start the consent process.
- Enter your child’s student ID and select their school (if you are providing consent for more than one child, you will need to complete the form for each child).
- On the following screen, please enter your child’s date of birth, first name, and last name.
- You will be asked to enter an email address to continue. After entering your preferred email address, you will be sent a link to confirm registration and finalize your child’s information. Please note that the link is time-sensitive and expires in 36 hours. For complete step-by-step instructions, please click here.
On a weekly or biweekly schedule, participating students will be tested by trained medical professionals utilizing a PCR test, in which a very short, shallow swab will be rotated three times in each of the student’s nostrils. Test results are expected to be available within 24 to 48 hours of when the test occurs. You will receive email and/or text notification of the availability of results to the email and phone number you provided when you registered and consented. Test results will be available via a secure online platform.
“We are looking forward to adding this layer of protection to our COVID-19 mitigation strategies,” said HISD Superintendent Millard House. “We remain committed to keeping our students and staff safe and working toward implementing strategies that can help us continue offering safe and sustainable in-person instruction.”
COVID-19 screening testing helps drive swift action to slow and stop the spread of the virus.
“This program will also allow us to promote equity by ensuring every student has access to COVID-19 testing if they want it and if their parent/guardian provides consent,” said Executive Officer of Student Support Services Candice Castillo. ”We have been very intentional about bringing opportunities such as COVID-19 vaccinations and now COVID-19 screening testing to our communities to make these options accessible to HISD families.”
To learn more about COVID-19 screening testing, visit www.HoustonISD.org/COVIDTestingFAQ or www.HoustonISD.org/HealthAlerts.