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HOOVER – The Hoover Board of Education approved in a July 13 meeting to delay the school start date by two weeks and require most students in elementary, middle and high school to wear masks.

The start date for students attending Hoover City Schools this fall changed from Aug. 6 to Aug. 20.

Students in third through 12^th grades are required to wear masks, while students in Pre-K through second grade are highly encouraged to do so.

Employee masks will be required, too.

Some exceptions apply to the mask requirements.

The virtual school option and remote learning registration window will be extended until Friday, July 17.

The HCS Reopening Plan 2020-2021 on the Hoover City Schools website outlines plans for student health, wellness and safety, transportation and the Child Nutrition Program.

Parents are asked to take their child’s temperature every day before school and determine if signs of illness exist, and, if so, to not send the child to school.

Children are encouraged to wash their hands often and to utilize hand-sanitizer from dispensers throughout the school buildings or from home.

With some exceptions, face masks will be required on school buses for all grades.

Parents are urged to remind their child what the distance of 6 feet looks like and to encourage the child to maintain this distance from others as often as possible.

HCS school bus drivers and aides will wear masks and gloves at all times.

Windows will be open for ventilation when weather permits.

Buses will be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected daily after morning and afternoon routes. In addition, HCS Operations has developed a COVID-19 Response Team to clean and sanitize areas where COVID-19 infected individuals may have been.

Buses will be taken out of service for 24 hours prior to the deep cleaning process, and once cleaned and fogged with an approved disinfectant, the bus will return to service.

Hand sanitizing stations will be installed on every bus for students to utilize when boarding or departing.

Additional routes may be added to minimize the number of students on a bus.

Assigned seating will be utilized to ensure the same students sit together each day.

Members of the same family will sit together when possible.

Students must remain in their seats, facing forward and clear of the center aisle at all times while on the bus.

Regarding school meals, breakfast meals will be served by CNP staff in the cafeteria. The dining location will be local school choice.

Lunch meals will be served by the CNP staff in the cafeteria.

Some of the school will eat in the dining room in a socially distanced format, while some of the school will take their food back to the classroom, outdoors or another designated location.

CNP employees will continue to self-assess and report to management prior to working.

CNP staff will wear face coverings or plastic face shields.

All foods will be wrapped or served in closed containers. Individual bags will be provided for transport of food back to the classrooms.

Dining room tables will be sanitized by custodians or principal designee between classes and at the end of the meal session.

Guests will not be allowed to eat in the cafeteria until further notice.

In the event of a future school closure, curbside pickup of meals will resume.

For more information about the HCS reopening plan and learning options, visit Hoovercityschools.net.