Less than three weeks into the 2021-22 academic year, Bartlett City Schools is updating its COVID-19 protocols as the district adapts to the pandemic’s changing landscape.

If a student tests positive for coronavirus, he or she can return to school after completing 10 days of isolation and are fever- and symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

Students exposed to a non-household positive coronavirus case will need to quarantine for 10 calendar days if they are deemed a close contact while masking. They will also need to remain symptom-free for an additional 24 hours without medication before returning to class. That does not apply to those who are fully vaccinated.

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“Any student with symptoms will be dismissed and are to be picked up no later than one hour after being contacted,” BCS wrote in its updated guidance. “Individuals will be able to return after 24 hours if they are fever-free without medication, feeling better and no further symptoms develop. If your child continues to remain ill and shows symptoms, your child will need to remain at home until symptom-free.”

For those students whose parents chose to opt out of wearing masks after Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order, they will have to quarantine for 14 calendar days and be symptom-free for 24 hours without medication before returning to class if exposed to a non-household COVID case.

The revised guidance comes after the governor’s Executive Order No. 84, allowing parents to opt out of the mask mandate in K-12 schools. Shelby County filed a lawsuit against Lee on Thursday, Aug. 26 regarding the executive order.

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While Collierville and Germantown school districts established separate virtual schools this year, BCS did not. The district now plans to add a temporary virtual education program for students quarantined due to COVID-19 to avoid students missing class time.

Exposure is defined as an individual being within 3 to 6 feet (3 feet only applies if all individuals are wearing masks) of a coronavirus-positive individual for more than 15 minutes.

The guidelines for students exposed to a positive COVID household contact are different.

In order to return to school, a BCS student would have to quarantine for 10 calendar days beginning from the date of the COVID-19 test, quarantine an additional 10 calendar days and be symptom-free for 24 hours without medication.

However, if a student remains without symptoms during quarantine, they can return to school after eight days if they have a negative PCR test collected after day five, according to BCS.