Developing a School Policy

You should just copy and paste from your local health department guidelines. Ours has a very clear algorithm to follow. I just refer all my parents back to that algorithm. I copy and paste the link to it and send it to anyone who questions what we're doing.

We've handled cases differently, but we've learned as we went. First teacher who tested positive sent the entire middle school home and we q'd them all. Subsequent teachers have been much more careful about where they are teaching from and how many kids they spend time leaning in and "close" teaching with. Students have been harder-every kid sitting at a desk within 6 feet gets q'd. That can be 5+ kids per classroom x6 classes a day. We are also a small school, so some of the quarantines have led to remote learning for all of high school just because 1/2 in quarantine and 1/2 not makes it impossible for teachers to teach. 

It's rough, but just keep pressing on. Best of luck!

I second @JoJoGo copy and paste exactly from your LHD.  If your principal isn't cooperative I'd try to get your LHD rep to talk to them.  Also even if CDC recommends something that doesn't change your state or local HD guidelines for schools.  Mine stayed the same.  CDC didn't change because the science changed.  They changed with hopes of people being more compliant with quarantine and 7 day quarantine with testing is really for essential workers who must go to work or the entire company/industry will collapse. 

Most (not all) of our positive people developed sx well within the 10 day window. I hope that helps.

I don't have much more to add - get the local health doc to speak to the principal. Sometimes the truth goes down better from an MD than me.

We are going with the new 10 day quarantine guideline from the CDC and my state's DPH. The science behind it is solid (99% of folks that develop COVID symptoms from a close contact exposure will develop then within 10 days) and it also aligns with those that test positive (at least 10 days minimum isolation). Explaining the difference between quarantine and isolation has been long and tiresome and folks were just saying to me "I still don't get it." 

Now it is all 10 days. We do not allow for the 7 days with a test on day 5 or later. I wanted it clean and simple and lowest risk and the head of my school/district agreed. 

Also, I just said I will quarantine an entire classroom cohort. We are cohorting to reduce mixing of students, but that same group is together ALL day and small encounters where social distancing isn't perfect can add up easily to 15+ minutes in that time. Luckily, yes, I also had full support here. 

::hugs:: OP. Keep fighting the good fight here.