HCS Face Mask Update - January 21, 2022 

 

Hampton City Schools (HCS) will continue to implement the division’s current HCS COVID-19 Health and Mitigation Strategies, which requires the wearing of masks by all students, staff, and visitors in schools and on buses unless a medical exemption or religious accommodation has been granted. 

 

The Hampton City School Board, at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, ratified the HCS 2021-2022 Instruction & Health Mitigation Plan. 

 

The Virginia law currently requires school systems to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance in schools. Therefore, face masks will remain in effect in HCS as we await further guidance from the Virginia legislature or are directed otherwise by the CDC. The use of face coverings on buses is a federal requirement issued in February 2021. 

 

Specifically, the Senate Bill 1303, which was signed into law last year by the Virginia General Assembly, requires public schools in Virginia to offer in-person instruction and to follow mitigation strategies provided by the CDC to reduce the spread of COVID-19, to the maximum extent practicable. Current CDC guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools includes indoor masking for individuals ages 2-years and older, including students, teachers, staff, and visitors in schools, regardless of vaccination status. The Virginia Department of Health also continues to emphasize the important role face coverings play in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in our community.

 

The health and safety of our students and staff are always our top priority. The layered mitigation strategies HCS has in place, including the use of face masks, are essential to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy in-person learning environment. 

 

Thank you for your continued support of Hampton City Schools.