BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Bowling Green Independent School District (BGISD) announced its plan to return to full in-person learning on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. 

The district said it will use two days of non-traditional instruction on Friday, Feb. 26, and Monday, March 1, 2021.

Students enrolled in the Virtual Academy will continue the spring schedule as planned, with March 12 and April 4-9 as non-school days, the district added. Meanwhile, preschool students will continue to attend two full days per week on the purple and gold schedule.

BGISD said it will follow Kentucky's Healthy at School Guidelines upon the return, which include COVID-19 screening procedures before boarding buses and entering school buildings, masks/cloth face coverings required in school buildings at all times, and the cleaning and sanitization of desks and commonly touched surfaces throughout the day, followed by a deeper cleaning of buildings each night.

Other guidelines include social distancing during mealtimes with the removal of masks, seating charts and rosters being available for contact tracing efforts, and no visitors permitted inside school buildings during the school day. There will also be no school-wide assemblies or field trips until further notice.

"BGISD will continue to track and monitor COVID-19 data, including the number of cases and quarantines due to exposure. If it is determined that schools need to return to the hybrid, Purple/Gold Schedule, or move to non-traditional learning, the district will notify parents, caregivers, and the community as soon as possible," said a message on the district's website.

In partnership with the Graves Gilbert Clinic, BGISD provides daily health functions, such as the delivery of medications, first-aid, triage, and access to a nurse practitioner via telemedicine services. It also offers on-site testing for flu, strep, and COVID-19 with both rapid and PCR tests. School Health Professionals also help lead contact tracing efforts and parent/caregiver exposure notification.

"All school district employees have been offered the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1B of Kentucky’s vaccination plan," the message said. "Through local partnerships with the Barren River District Health Department and Med Center Health, the majority of school employees will begin receiving second doses of the vaccine this week. However, at this time, receiving the vaccine will not change CDC recommended guidelines for masking, social distancing, or quarantining."

Warren County Public Schools said on Twitter that it would provide a reopening update on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m.