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By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

Shelby County Schools released an addendum to the 2021-2022 reopening plan on Aug. 20 with information about COVID-19 protocols the district will follow moving forward.

“After receiving additional communication from Dr. Scott Harris at the Alabama Department of Public Health that went out to all state superintendents and was received by Shelby County Schools on Aug. 18, we have revisited our reopening plan and will follow these protocols,” read the update. “Masks remain optional but are strongly recommended during the school day. Masks continue to be required on school buses.”

If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, he or she must remain out of school for 10 days following the onset of symptoms or positive test result if asymptomatic.

Individuals must be 24 hours without fever or fever-reducing medications, and experience improvement in symptoms before returning to school.

Close contacts of an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 must remain out of school for 10 days from the date of the last contact with the individual.

ADPH recognizes the following exemptions for exclusion from school:

• The person is fully vaccinated (and volunteers this information).
• The person has had COVID-19 within the last 90 days.
• Both the individual and the exposed individual were masked.

While out of school, students can keep up with classroom instruction by completing essential assignments in Google Classroom (K-5) or Schoology (6-12).

A person is to remain off campus if he or she has been diagnosed with COVID-19, he or she is an unvaccinated close contact and is not wearing a mask, and he or she is an unvaccinated close contact and is wearing a mask, but the ill individual is not masked.

A person may remain in school if he or she is a close contact but has had COVID-19 within the past 90 days or is vaccinated, he or she (vaccinated or unvaccinated) was greater than 6 feet from the positive case, and he or she is an unvaccinated close contact but is wearing a mask and the ill individual is wearing a mask.

Shelby County Schools started the new school year with a staggered start Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, followed by all in-person students returning to campuses on Monday, Aug. 16.

In-person instruction is available for students in grades K-12, while the district’s virtual option, Virtual Shelby, is only for students in grades 6-12.

To view the addendum update, visit Shelbyed.k12.al.us.