Fayette schools ‘moving away’ from COVID mandates, toward choice and individual accountability

Despite high, or “red,” community levels of COVID, Fayette County schools are “moving away” from daily case data reports and are urging but won’t require masks for the school year that begins Wednesday, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins told families in a message.

The district is also moving away from weekly email COVID updates, and a “revolving door of re-evaluating procedures and issuing new guidance,” Liggins said in the Aug. 3 message.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Tuesday said that Fayette County has high community spread, which means people should wear masks indoors in public.

Members of at least one teacher’s group in Fayette County disagree with not having daily case data reports posted on the district’s website.

“KY120 United AFT Fayette thinks, at a minimum, data should be reported so families can make informed decisions regarding their health and safety precautions,” said co-founder Jeni Ward. “We have always advocated for following the CDC’s recommendations, especially regarding masking, and continue to do so. We believe best practice is always putting the safety and well being of our students, families, and employees first.”

It’s unclear whether Fayette families will know this school year if a teacher or a fellow student in the classroom tests positive.

Positive cases of COVID should be reported to a child’s school, Liggins’ message said.

But Liggins did not respond to a question Monday from the Herald-Leader asking if or at what point families will be notified of a positive COVID case in a child’s classroom among students or the teacher. District officials this week would answer no questions about COVID policies beyond Liggins’ Aug. 3 message.

Liggins said in the message, “since COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future, we have to integrate it into how we operate, rather than allowing it to be our primary focus.”

For months of the pandemic, Fayette students learned from home. Upon their return to campus, masks were for a time mandatory.

This fall, students and staff are already back on campus at four schools. The first day of instruction for all others is Wednesday, August 10.

Jefferson County Schools, Kentucky’s largest district, is requiring universal masking as the school year begins until the community is no longer at the red level.

In Fayette County, as school starts with the community at the red level, both wearing masks or not will be OK.

Medical experts advise that when a community is in the red, people should protect themselves and others by wearing a mask while indoors or in crowds, monitoring for symptoms, staying home when sick and getting tested for COVID-19. The district strongly recommends everyone follow these precautions, Liggins said in his message.

In Fayette County, with the expanded availability of vaccines to everyone six months of age and older, and the development of anti-viral medications to treat COVID-19, there is a new phase in the pandemic, Liggins said.

Fayette County is encouraging at-home testing. If a child has symptoms at school, a rapid COVID test is administered at school in the parent’s presence. Students will be sent home until their symptoms resolve or they get an alternative diagnosis. People who test positive should stay home for five days and wear a mask for another five days, the message said.

The school district continues to partner with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department to regularly review the current status of the virus in the community and discuss the district’s health and safety procedures Liggins said.

The district’s top priority remains the health and well-being of students, employees, and families, even as “we shift the emphasis away from mandates toward individual choice and accountability,” Liggins said in his message.

Staying home when you are sick is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. During this time of rising cases, even if you think “it’s just allergies,” please take an at-home test before heading out the door that morning, Liggins said.

CBS News said Monday it had obtained a draft CDC report that indicates COVID restrictions in the classroom having to do with testing and social distancing could soon be eased. The recommendations could also lift quarantine recommendations for those exposed to the virus, whether they are vaccinated or not, CBS reported.