Beginning Monday, August 9, all ACPS employees, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a face mask when inside a school or school division office. Previously, masks were not required in schools or offices if a person was fully vaccinated and students were not present. This new requirement is based on updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recently recommended that masks be worn by anyone inside a school, regardless of vaccination status, in communities where there is substantial or high transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

The CDC cited new evidence on the transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant for their update. Across our nation, throughout Virginia, and locally, virus infections have been rising in recent weeks, with public health officials attributing most of the upsurge to the increased presence of the Delta variant. State legislation requires school divisions to follow CDC guidance on COVID-19 mitigation strategies to the maximum extent possible.

Students and staff are still permitted to remove their masks when outdoors.