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New health checklists and school guidance
Wed, 16 Feb, 2022
On Friday, February 11, the Government of Alberta updated their guidance for K-12 schools and school buses and shared additional details about staying safe and healthy this school year.
The latest changes are part of Alberta’s three-step plan to ease public health measures, which was announced on February 8.
KEY CHANGES FROM THE PROVINCE
NEW DAILY HEALTH CHECKLISTS
On February 9, the Government of Alberta updated its daily health checklists for adults and for children under 18. These new checklists provide more details about isolation requirements for children and adults who are fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or not vaccinated.
Families are required to complete the province’s new checklist for children each morning to determine if it is safe for their child to attend school. School staff will continue to complete the daily checklist for adults.
Anyone with symptoms should stay home and use an at-home rapid antigen test if possible. Rapid tests can show a false negative result, so anyone with symptoms should follow all public health guidelines.
Checking your child for symptoms daily is an important way to keep schools as safe as possible. Thank you for doing your part to keep students and staff healthy at school.
MASKS
Beginning Monday, February 14, masks are no longer required for Pre-K–Grade 12 students on yellow school buses, during classes or during extracurricular school activities. The City of Edmonton requires masks on public transit such as ETS buses and the LRT.
The Division continues to encourage the wearing of masks to help protect our collective health and safety. However, families and students will make their own decisions about whether wearing a mask is right for them and those decisions will be respected. The Minister of Education has indicated that school divisions no longer have the authority to go beyond provincial health requirements. This means school boards cannot require masks.
The province still requires students to wear masks in some circumstances, including:
- when a student develops symptoms of illness at school (staff will provide a mask to wear until the student is picked up)
- for those who are fully vaccinated, recovering from COVID-19 and returning to school after their mandatory five-day isolation period
- for anyone 13 or older who is attending school-hosted spectator events, such as athletics or performances
CONTINUING SAFETY MEASURES
All adults are still required to wear masks, including all school staff, visitors, parents and school bus drivers.
Additional safety measures will continue, including:
- cohorting students and physical distancing where possible
- daily health screenings for students and staff before coming to school
- hand hygiene requirements for students and staff
- enhanced cleaning and disinfecting in schools
- moving individual classes online if needed
PROVINCIAL TESTS AND EXAMS
Alberta Education has indicated diploma exams will go ahead for April, June and August. For this school year, Diploma exams will be worth 10 per cent of a student’s final grade, rather than 30 per cent.
Provincial Achievement Tests are also expected to go ahead for Grade 6 and 9 students in May and June.
MORE INFORMATION
To help families understand the changes in schools during each step of the government’s plan, the province has updated its parents’ guide for the 2021–22 school year. The province also revised its 2021–22 school year plan.
Families can find COVID-19 resources translated into multiple languages on the Government of Alberta website.
