Last week, Governor Hutchinson announced that contact tracing and quarantine directives for school districts are no longer required. The Bryant School Board voted to no longer contact trace and to no longer require quarantines for students who have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19. In addition, the Board voted to repeal an earlier resolution that required masks based on ACHI data. Masks are no longer required but recommended.
The district’s goal has been to keep students in school since the pandemic began. Previous decisions on masks were based on quarantine guidelines that stated individuals had to quarantine if they were identified as a close contact and not wearing a mask. To keep quarantine numbers down and students in school, the ACHI color coding system was implemented to determine when masks would be required. When numbers were low, masks were optional (as evident from October through December). When community spread was high, such as after Christmas break, masks were required to keep quarantine numbers down. Quarantine is no longer required; therefore, masks are optional.
Protocols for positive cases of COVID-19 will remain the same. We ask parents/guardians to continue notifying our District Point of Contact by form or email if their student tests positive for COVID. If your student tests positive, he/she will be required to stay home for five days from the onset of symptoms. The updated COVID protocols are available for students and staff.
The district will continue to monitor and report active cases each Friday. The dashboard is posted to the district Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The new protocols begin immediately. If your student is currently quarantined and has not developed symptoms, he/she may return to school.