Lockport City School District
March 2, 2022
New York State Department of Health Guidance Update
As you may know, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) released guidance related to masking in schools to districts on Tuesday evening, March 1, 2022.
After a review of the guidance documents which pertain to the masking change in schools, LCSD updates are as follows:
- Masking is optional in school, during extracurricular activities, and on school buses. Even if a student or staff is at high risk of severe COVID-19, there is no requirement that other individuals in the classroom wear masks routinely. All people are kindly asked to respect the choices individuals make regarding whether to wear a mask or not.
- Symptomatic individuals, regardless of vaccination status or recent infection, should stay home until tested and if positive or not tested, should isolate for 5 days, or until other criteria are met for school attendance (e.g., resolution of fever), whichever is longer.
- Isolation or quarantining/test-to-stay protocols for students and staff who test positive for COVID or who exhibit COVID-like symptoms will continue.
- Students and staff must wear masks upon return to school during Days 6-10 of their isolation period following a positive COVID test result. Masks are available in each school building.
- The District will remain with current contact tracing efforts and the District will notify staff and parents/legal guardians of students exposed to a positive case to the extent possible. The distance to determine whether an individual has been "exposed" or been in "close contact" with someone with COVID-19 while in school is six feet.
- The exposed or potentially exposed individuals do not need to be excluded (quarantined) from school and should wear a mask and test as recommended. If schools become aware that individuals who should be masking and testing are not doing so, efforts should be made to educate those individuals and parents/legal guardians.
- At home self-test kits will be available for staff and parents of students in each building. Parents/legal guardians should contact their child’s school to make arrangements for picking up test kits. Positive test results should be reported to the Niagara County Department of Health (NCDOH).
- Daily sanitization and physical distancing will continue to occur.
- The District will continue its daily reporting of positive cases to the school community and the New York State COVID-19 Report Card.
Please remember to practice good personal health and hygiene practices by covering your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, washing your hands with soap frequently, and stay home if experiencing COVID-like symptoms.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and patience during the challenging times that we have faced as a learning community. The safety of all people in the Lockport City School District is most important. Stay safe and be well.
Lockport City School District
Website: www.lockportschools.org
Location: 130 Beattie Avenue, Lockport, NY, USA
Phone: 716-478-4800
Facebook: facebook.com/LockportCitySchoolDistrict
Twitter: @LockportSchools