Reopening Plan Released By Birmingham City Schools

BIRMINGHAM, AL — With the 2021-22 school year set to start in just a matter of weeks, Birmingham City Schools released its reopening plan amid rising COVID-19 cases in Jefferson County.

Superintendent Mark Sullivan said the schools will continue to strictly follow safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among staff and students.

"We are still in a pandemic, so we will strictly follow science-based health and safety protocols in all BCS schools and facilities in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Sullivan said. "We will have in-person teaching and learning, and we will offer the full range of extracurricular activities for our scholars. This may change, depending on the spread of the virus and recommendations from public health officials."

The reopening plan includes these guidelines:

• Traditional, in-person instruction and learning at each school
• All students will attend school five days a week
• Students and staff will respect personal space in all school areas and activities
• Visitors allowed on a pre-approved basis for certain scheduled activities
• Students will have assigned seats in classrooms
• Vaccinated individuals are not required to wear masks
• All unvaccinated students and employees must wear masks in BCS schools and facilities
• All eligible students and staff members are encouraged to be vaccinated against COVID-19
• All school areas will be cleaned and disinfected daily
• Schedules will be adjusted to clean and disinfect common areas on a more frequent basis
• Students and staff will be instructed to follow strict hand-washing and hygiene routines
• All students will have assigned seats on buses
• Buses will be cleaned and disinfected after morning and afternoon runs
• Each school will decide on meal distribution on their campus to provide the most appropriate social distancing
• Surfaces will be sanitized between meal service times
• All ADPH guidelines will be enforced
• Students should be fever-free (less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit) without the use of fever-reducing medication for 24 hours before returning to school