Cobb schools to update quarantine, COVID-19 protocols

Cobb schools mask guidance

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday the Cobb County School District will unveil updated protocols related to COVID-19, including revised quarantine guidelines, next week.

He wasn’t specific about those measures except to reiterate that the district will have a masks-optional policy for students, teachers and staff.

“Our intent is going to be to back normal as much as possible,” he said during a Cobb Board of Education work session.

“But it’s not going to be back to normal.”

He cited continuing virtual learning options for students whose parents do not wish for them to attend in person “as we look forward to a more traditional school year.”

Ragsdale said the updated protocols will go out via e-mail, social media and other regular district communications channels by the middle of next week at the latest.

The Cobb 2021-22 school year begins Aug. 2, one of the earliest returns for a school district in metro Atlanta.

Ragsdale said Cobb wants to work in tandem with other school districts about the measures.

Some nearby districts are continuing mask mandates that they used all of the last school year, including Atlanta, Clayton Decatur and DeKalb, regardless of vaccination status. Fulton and Gwinnett have announced masks-optional policies.

Cobb had a mask mandate for most of the 2020-21 school year, dropping the requirement for “fully vaccinated” individuals in the final weeks.

That was also as Ragsdale announced that masks would be optional starting with the summer session. 

Students and staff who wish to wear masks on campuses will be allowed to do so.

The Cobb school district was briefly sued by parents opposed to the mask mandate but they dropped that suit when the masks-optional policy was announced.

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