By Sherri Blevins
Without a state-wide government-issued mask order, the Alabama State Department of Education has left the decision to “mask or not mask” to each school district. The State Department has also changed the COVID-19 Protocols from 2020.
After beginning the school year with a mask requirement, the Scottsboro City School System called a special meeting on August 12, 2021, eliminating the SCS mask requirement. Scottsboro City Schools Superintendent Amy Childress stated that Scottsboro City Schools appreciates everyone’s support in ensuring the well-being and safety of the students and community and support in these efforts to provide an enriching, in-person learning environment this year. She added that as long as COVID-19 remains a threat, they will continue to monitor and be responsive to the community’s needs.
On SCS’s Facebook page, Superintendent Childress provided four guidelines the system would follow and ask for parents’ assistance:
•Please monitor flu and COVID-19 symptoms before sending children to school. If your child exhibits COVID-19 or similar symptoms, do not send your child to school. The school nurse or principal will work with you regarding any necessary absences due to illness.
•By order of the Federal Transportation Administration and the US Center for Disease Control, students transported on a public school bus must wear masks or facial covers.
•At this time, the decision to wear a mask on campus by a student or employee of the Scottsboro City Schools, except for school bus transportation, as required by federal regulation, is a personal decision.
•Scottsboro City Schools will cooperate with contact tracing as requested by the Alabama Department of Public Health(ADPH). Individuals who are not yet eligible (age 11 or younger) or opt not to vaccinate may be required to isolate from Scottsboro City Schools’ campus and events and may be required to quarantine if the ADPH identifies them as a close contact.
Dr. Childress provided information on the page about protocol the schools will follow if students are in close contact or exposed to someone with COVID 19. Schools that are choosing to allow personal preference for masks are advised to follow these guidelines:
When notified in writing of possible exposure, the Student/employee must be isolated for ten days UNLESS:
•They have been fully vaccinated (does not include children under 12 – children ages 11 and under are not eligible for the vaccine)
•They have had a positive diagnosis of COVID within the last 90 days
•Both the close contact and the suspected ill person were BOTH masked properly, and both individuals were no closer than six feet for a total of 15 minutes in 24 hours
Suppose individuals develop symptoms during the school day. In that case, the individual is screened using the COVID screening tool. A ten-day isolation period is required unless a healthcare provider documents that the symptoms are not COVID-related. If individuals receive a positive diagnosis, they must be isolated from the SCS campus and events for a minimum of ten days. They must be fever-free without medication for at least 24 hours before returning to campus.
