DeKalb schools closes fingerprinting unit due to COVID-19
The DeKalb County School District recently shut down its fingerprinting office for the second time this year due to coronavirus infections.
The school system’s Department of Public Safety has a fingerprinting division near its Stone Mountain headquarters. The fingerprinting office was initially closed from Jan. 12 through Jan. 25. The district closed it again this week for extensive cleaning, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The spokeswoman did not say how many employees in the fingerprinting unit were infected. Four employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the district switched to virtual-only learning last March, she said.
Fingerprinting is part of the background check process for school district employees. Teachers are required to be fingerprinted every five years for recertification, according to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
In a response to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution records request, the district said Friday that 604 employees and 158 students tested positive for COVID-19 from July 1 to Feb. 3.
DeKalb schools have been virtual-only since March 2020 and officials have not said when in-person learning will begin again. School staff returned to buildings on Wednesday to prepare classrooms for the pending start of face-to-face learning.
Previously, district officials said they would reconsider reopening if the two-week positivity rate drops below 10%. Officials initially said they would wait until there are fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 residents prior to reopening, which has yet to happen either.
About the Author
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
