LEXINGTON, Ky. — Masks will be required for all employees, students, contractors and visitors at Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) this year, regardless of vaccination status. The district announced the requirement Tuesday morning.

“Our district believes students learn best when they can experience the joys and advantages of being together on campus with classmates and caring adults,” Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said in a statement posted on the district's website. “The past year has proven that our district can safely provide in-person instruction and minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 when proper precautions — including layers of prevention strategies — are implemented with fidelity.”

FCPS outlined other guidelines for the 2021-22 school year, which it said are based on the most recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics and the Kentucky Department for Public Health. The district said it also worked with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on the guidelines:

• Physical distancing of at least 3 feet to the greatest extent possible indoors and 6 feet outdoors and in other settings where masks are not worn
• An emphasis on hand washing and healthy habits
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols
• Required assurances of health and daily health screenings by families and employees
• Strict adherence to contact tracing and quarantine protocols in the event a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19

Liggins said that should students be required to quarantine, schools will work with families to make sure they continue receiving instruction. FCPS noted that per recommendations from the local health department, students and employees who are fully vaccinated or have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days will not have to quarantine.

Rising cases amid the delta variant, low vaccination rates among 12- to 17-year-olds and the lack of an approved vaccine for children younger than 12 were major considerations for the district, Liggins said.

“We will continue to monitor these conditions and update our protocols as they change or state and national guidance is updated,” he added.

“We believe all of these precautions will work in concert to make our schools safe places where students and staff can otherwise resume normal activities. We look forward to the return of orientations, open houses, family nights, field trips, afterschool clubs and school performances. Visitors and volunteers providing educational or therapeutic services will once again be welcomed on campus. Working together, we can make this school year a great one!”