The Alabama COVID-19 K-12 Dashboard was developed through a collaboration between the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) to provide a statewide view of COVID-19 cases and operating status in the K-12 setting. Lee County Schools COVID-19 data will now be reported through Alabama's K-12 COVID-19 School Dashboard. Lee County area COVID-19 data are reported through Alabama's COVID-19 Risk Indicator Dashboard.

Anuncio en español: https://bit.ly/COVIDenespanol

 K-12 School Recommendations - Omicron Update (December 30, 2021)

With the Omicron variant expected to already be the dominant variant in the United States and due to the surge in COVID-19 case numbers across Alabama, ADPH is committed to following the best evidence for the K-12 setting to ensure that children can attend school safely. All data are currently in a cycle of continuous revision, as this new variant of the virus seems to have both a shorter incubation period and higher transmissibility.

Recently, the CDC updated its quarantine and isolation guidelines for the general public that allows for shorter time periods in certain situations. However, these data are heavily dependent on masking protocols and have not yet been specifically considered for the K-12 setting, or in other congregate environments.

Therefore:

1. The recommendations contained in the Back to School Guidance 2021-2022 document published by the Alabama Department of Public Health remain unchanged. This includes recommendations for masking, physical distancing to the extent possible, improved ventilation, respiratory hygiene, and hand washing to limit the spread of COVID-19 in all schools.
2. In schools that have adopted or will adopt a school-wide mask policy, a "test-to-stay" practice, similar to one recently endorsed by the CDC, can be implemented. Please review page 21 in the amended Back to School Guidance (linked above). Test-to-stay allows an exposed student to stay in the school setting after an exposure if both parties were masked, the exposure was in the school setting, and the student tests negative 5-7 days after the exposure.
3. As the guidelines for shortened quarantine and isolation have not yet been published by the CDC for the K-12 setting, ADPH cannot recommend shortened isolation be adopted in schools until the CDC updates its documents. ADPH continues to review data daily and assess Omicron’s impact on children, as well as others in this ongoing pandemic.

District Path to Reopening Schools Plan

(Updated August 2022)