Return to School Health and Safety Letter
Update 8/16 Please note that Community Levels in Fairfax County are "low".
Dear FCPS Families,
We are excited to welcome students back to school on August 22. While we had hoped that the pandemic would be behind us, it seems that COVID will be something we must manage as a community for the foreseeable future. FCPS will continue to follow the guidance of national, state, and local health experts when determining the layered prevention strategies that are needed to keep our schools safe and open for learning. It is important that we all work together towards this goal.
Below are important updates to this year’s layered prevention strategies. More detailed information can be found in the Health and Safety Guidance Document on our website.
Staying Home When Sick
FCPS continues to require families to review the Daily Health Screening before sending students to school. The 5 Day Isolation Period will also continue for COVID positive students and staff.
Supports for Students in Isolation (StreamIn/CheckIn)
Our StreamIn/CheckIn continues for students who are in isolation due to COVID-19. No later than day three of the isolation, students will be able to access:
- Recording or Live Streaming of direct instruction for core classes
- Asynchronous class assignments via Schoology
- Interactive check-ins with teachers
Vaccinations
The CDC recommends the COVID vaccine as a safe and effective way of significantly lowering your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected. Vaccines are now available for our youngest students. However, COVID vaccines are not part of the required immunizations for school entry.
Masking
FCPS does not require face masks at this time because the CDC COVID-19 Community Level for Fairfax County is medium. Face masks are not required when community transmission levels are medium or low. If the community transmission becomes high, FCPS requires all students to wear a face covering when indoors (except while actively eating/drinking) on school property (to include the buildings, school buses and other school provided vehicles). The Code of Virginia allows parents/legal guardians to elect for their child not to wear a face covering while on school property.
Ventilation
FCPS will continue to optimize ventilation and improve indoor air quality. The Virginia Department of Health is providing nearly $400,000 to FCPS for ventilation repairs, upgrades, and/or replacements for this school year.
Testing Options
Diagnostic testing will be available beginning Tuesday, August 16 for FCPS students and staff who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Diagnostic testing will only be available during specific dates when FCPS has previously experienced an increase in testing requests. Information on diagnostic testing will continue to be updated on our website.
Screening testing is being developed on a limited basis for our students at the greatest risk. Specific schools will share that information to their eligible families.
COVID Case Notifications
FCPS will no longer send a daily or weekly COVID case update. Parents/Guardians will only receive an email from their child’s school when several cases of COVID-19 occur in a single classroom, sports team, or extracurricular activity within a 14-day period. Individual case reports will be available on the FCPS COVID-19 Dashboard on our website.
To stay up to date, please continue to review our Health and Safety Guidance on our website.
Fairfax County Public Schools
