Going on an out-of-state vacation? Your kids may have to skip the first weeks of school, N.J. officials warn. – NJ.com

Taking an August vacation to a rental house in the Outer Banks, to lay on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, or to visit the grandparents in Ohio?

That late-summer getaway could mean your kids have to miss the first few weeks of in-person classes at school, New Jersey school officials are warning families as districts prepare to reopen schools.

New Jersey currently has 35 states and territories on its quarantine list because of high coronavirus transmission rates. Any travelers to those states — including nearby Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia and North Carolina — are required to self-quarantine for 14 days once they return to New Jersey. (A full list of quarantined states is below.)

Those rules apply to children and teachers planning to start in-person classes at public and private school in late August and early September, school officials say. Many districts are sending warnings about the two-week quarantine to families as public schools announce their reopening plans this month.

“We will require families to adhere to the current state and federal travel advisories for travel from the identified high risk states with a significant spread of COVID-19,” Christine Burton, Millburn’s superintendent of schools said in a letter to families.

The Essex County school district plans to reopen Sept. 8 with a mix of in-class and at-home learning for its 4,800 students.

“A negative virus test does not supersede the quarantine period. Please pay attention to your travel locations and dates in order for your child to start school on time,” Burton said. “To start in school on Sept. 8, a student would need to begin quarantine on Aug. 25.”

State officials have said there is no way to effectively enforce the quarantine or guarantee everyone will comply. Students, teachers and other school employees need to be honest about what states they have visited and voluntarily spend the 14 days at home.

Unlike in New York, Gov. Phil Murphy has said New Jersey will not fine people who ignore the two-week quarantine request.

Those flying to New Jersey are being asked to fill out an electronic survey about where they are traveling from and their hometown. The information will be used by county health departments to call travelers to ask them to self-quarantine and give them locations where they can get a COVID-19 test.

Travelers driving into New Jersey will not be stopped and questioned, though they can fill out the survey by texting “NJ Travel” to 898211, visiting covid19.nj.gov/njtravel or scanning a QR code on posters.

“Our state’s restart and recovery process is dependent upon the commitment and collective effort of every New Jerseyan and visitor to our state,” Murphy said.

For families with children planning to return to school, the quarantine rules can be frustrating. New Jersey has been updating the quarantine list weekly based on virus transmission data, so some states have been moving on and off the list. This week, Rhode Island was added while the District of Columbia and Delaware were removed.

That can make it difficult for families to plan trips and it may be impossible to get refunds for summer rental houses and other expenses for vacations and family visits planned long before New Jersey created its quarantine list.

Students who need to skip the first week or two of school will likely be able to use their district’s distance learning plan while they quarantine. Most New Jersey schools are reopening with a hybrid plan or split schedules in which half or a third of students are in class each day while the rest are doing remote learning on computers at home.

Every public school district is also required to offer an all-remote plan for students who don’t want to return to in-person learning.

Nearly all of New Jersey’s nearly 600 school districts are expected to send out their finalized reopening plans to their communities by next week, at the latest.

As of Tuesday, the list of states and territories on New Jersey’s quarantine list include:

Alabama (added 6/24/20)
Alaska (added 7/21/20)
Arkansas (added 6/24/20)
Arizona (added 6/24/20)
California (added 6/30/20)
Florida (added 6/24/20)
Georgia (added 6/30/20)
Iowa (added 6/30/20)
Idaho (added 6/30/20)
Illinois (added 7/28/20)
Indiana (added 7/21/20)
Kansas (added 7/7/20)
Kentucky (added 7/28/20)
Louisiana (added 6/30/20)
Maryland (added 7/21/20)
Minnesota (re-added 7/28/20)
Mississippi (added 6/30/20)
Missouri (added 7/21/20)
Montana (added 7/21/20)
Nebraska (added 7/21/20)
Nevada (added 6/30/20)
New Mexico (added 7/14/20)
North Carolina (added 6/24/20)
North Dakota (added 7/21/20)
Ohio (added 7/14/20)
Oklahoma (added 7/7/20)
Puerto Rico (added 7/28/20)
Rhode Island (added 8/4/20)
South Carolina (added 6/24/20)
Tennessee (added 6/30/20)
Texas (added 6/24/20)
Utah (added 6/24/20)
Virginia (added 7/21/20)
Washington (added 7/21/20)
Wisconsin (added 7/14/20)

The quarantine applies to any state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average, state officials said.

Staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.

Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.