Parent worries Fort Bend ISD COVID-19 cases are under-counted

MISSOURI CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Fort Bend ISD mother says she is worried the district is under reporting COVID-19 cases after she says her children's positive cases were not shared with school staff and other parents.

"My only concern is how transparent are we all being with one another and how proactive are we being with keeping the students, the teachers and the families safe?" said Rebecca Kahn.

Her son and daughter attend in-person learning at Schiff Elementary School in Missouri City. But she says they have been in quarantine since testing positive last week.

Kahn says she notified Fort Bend ISD on Friday, Jan. 22 and five days later their teachers and classmates, she says, are still learning in person.

No emails have gone out to parents and staff providing notice of the two cases and none of her children's classmates have been contacted by the district's contact tracing team to determine exposure - all protocols for the district's reimagined plan to address COVID-19.

"I'm wondering how transparent we're being and how much information parents are actually receiving from the school and from the district," she said.

Superintendent Dr. Charles Dupre tells ABC13 they may be missing cases.

"We're dealing with thousands and thousands - 78,000 kids and 12,000 employees. We're going to miss sometimes, I'm just going to be honest. The system is not perfect," he said.

District-wide, Fort Bend ISD reports 281 active COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 25, according to the district's COVID-19 dashboard.

A district spokesperson reiterated to ABC13 the district's plan includes sending campus-wide emails for every positive case at a campus or facility and following up with their contact tracing program to determine potential exposure.

"We are absolutely tracking positive cases. We are tracking numbers of close contact exposures and we are asking people to quarantine when we can track those things," said Dupre.

We are still working to get answers about why Kahn's children's cases have gone unreported to campus staff and students.

"I do not hold anyone at fault. I know the district is doing a lot to handle it the best they can," said Kahn.