Masks Go Optional on Monday, Nov. 1

After careful consideration and deliberation, the Madison County Board of Education has implemented the decision to potentially return back to the original plans of the Ready, Set, Forward plan that was initiated at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

As announced by the school board, if positive COVID-19 numbers remain below 0.5% system-wide, MCSS will implement the following change to LEVEL 1, which allows the use of masks to become optional for all students and staff, beginning Monday, November 1, 2021. However, due to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements, students and staff MUST wear masks while on all buses.

Starting Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, the County will be implementing the following protocols on a school to school basis:
If an individual school reaches a 2.5% positivity rate, they will move to masks required at Level 1.
If an individual school reaches a 5.0% positivity rate, they will move to masks required at Level 1, and the school nurses will take over the COVID-19 contact tracing for that campus.
When a school falls below 0.5% positivity rate for five consecutive school days, they will return to masks optional at Level 1.
Maintaining such low COVID-19 positivity rates may seem difficult, but with the help of all faculty, staff and students, it is hopeful that the school system can remain mask-optional for the remainder of the school year. By getting vaccinated, wearing masks if feeling sick, washing hands regularly, and following guidelines implemented by the school and the CDC, the spread of COVID-19 can diminish to below the allotted 0.5%.