NOLA-PS Releases COVID-19 Health Guidance for 2021-2022 School Year

Masks will not be required inside school buildings for fully vaccinated individuals.

(New Orleans – July 6 2021) — As students, teachers and staff prepare to return to in-person learning for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year, NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) has updated its COVID-19 guidance protocols for schools and families to help keep our students, teachers, staff, and visitors safe.

The guidance measures were developed following new health protocol recommendations for the upcoming school year from the Louisiana Department of Education, as well as recommendations from the New Orleans Department of Health and our own medical advisors.

NOLA-PS' 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 the vaccination status of all students and staff members requesting the 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.

Our complete list of 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.

We encourage students and their families to get vaccinated ahead of the upcoming school year and to participate in COVID-19 testing programs at school. These are two ways our school community can protect themselves from the coronavirus and the more contagious Delta variant. NOLA-PS will be providing mobile vaccination opportunities throughout the summer and throughout the school year. Meantime, the city has a list of vaccination locations our families can access here. Robust routine COVID-19 testing will be made accessible to students and staff throughout the school year with the help of our local health partners.

"It will be so liberating for our students 12 and older and staff, who are fully vaccinated, not to have to wear a mask. So, we're doing everything we can to make sure it's easy for our students and their families to get their shots," said NOLA-PS Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. "Our new guidance will help our students once again enjoy being with their teachers and peers. We know our classrooms are where they are safest and strongest, socially, physically, and emotionally, as they continue to develop and thrive." 

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.

For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.