NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — NOLA Public Schools released its COVID-19 guidance protocols for schools and families for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.
The guidance measures follow new health protocol recommendations from the Louisiana Department of Education, as well as recommendations from the New Orleans Department of Health and our own medical advisors.
The new guidance measures include the following changes:
- Schools may allow students and staff members that are fully vaccinated to remove masks while in the school facility.
- Masks are not required for any student or staff member while outdoors.
- Schools will verify vaccination status of all students and staff requesting ability to remove masks.
- No maximum capacity number for classrooms, schools are required to follow social distancing needs.
- Daily temperature checks are no longer required.
- Students can dine in their school cafeterias, as long as they continue to use the same social distancing model they use in their classrooms.
- School buses will operate at full occupancy with the additional precaution of required masking for all riders, regardless of vaccine status, and seating charts.
The complete list of NOLA-PS guidelines can be seen here.
These new guidelines are in line with federal, state, and local health agency recommendations. As we have from the beginning of the pandemic, NOLA-PS is committed to the health and safety of our school community, and we will continue to monitor the data that measures the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and do everything we can to ensure our K-12 students remain in in-person learning.