How We're Keeping Students Safe



The San Marcos Unified School District has worked hard to implement the top recommended COVID-19 mitigation strategies, as well as go above and beyond to put our own systems in place, to keep our students and staff safe.


Masks Per the California Department of Public Health guidelines, masks are worn by students and staff indoors at all school locations.


New air filtration Each SMUSD classroom has been equipped with a new

air purifier with three levels of protection: Pre-filter, activated carbon, and HEPA filter to capture 99.7% of 0.3 micron particles.


Deep cleaning and sanitization protocols All school sites and district

offices receive deep cleaning and sanitization, with additional custodians on staff this year to maintain standards. As part of the disinfectant protocols, every Friday evening all classrooms, offices, and common areas receive ENVIROmist fogging, which is an organic, proprietary microorganism spray that establishes and maintains a safe, stable and healthy microbial community on hard and soft surfaces.

Handwashing stations in outdoor spaces All schools are equipped with handwashing stations to reinforce the habit of handwashing to help stop the spread. 


District COVID-19 testing locations Four new SMUSD COVID-19 testing locations launched this year, three at school sites and one at the District Office, to provide easy & convenient access to testing for students and staff. 


District Contact Tracers SMUSD has hired a team of six full-time dedicated contact tracers who work directly with dozens of district staff to ensure we are notifying close contacts as quickly and efficiently as possible. 


Faster Results Notification Due to our independent on-site testing and contact tracing systems, SMUSD notifies students and staff who test with us of their results in approximately 48 hours, while the county notification can be 1-4+ days. This allows us to secure results, and identify close contacts faster and more efficiently. 


New measures to keep students in class safely While many districts keep students out of school to streamline administration and tracking, SMUSD has hired more staff to allow students to remain in class and implement an

approved modified quarantine.

  • What is a modified quarantine? Modified quarantine allows asymptomatic students that have been identified as close contacts to remain in school with twice weekly testing under certain conditions. For details, click here.

Vaccination events We are proud to collaborate with many

community and business partners to bring COVID-19 vaccination

events to our school families and community. Please check our website by clicking here for the latest upcoming vaccination events.