From Fredericksburg City Schools
Fredericksburg City Public Schools (FCPS) has been steadfast throughout the pandemic that health, safety and instructional needs are foremost in our thoughts and actions. We have always followed state and federal law and will continue to do so. On February 16, Governor Youngkin signed SB-739 which requires schools to lift universal masking policies before March 1.
Beginning, Tuesday, March 1, students will no longer be required to wear masks in FCPS buildings. However, we will continue to strongly encourage mask wearing as a key strategy in our efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.
Please know that in making this transition, we will focus on maintaining a positive and welcoming learning environment in which students feel comfortable wearing a mask if they choose to do so.
Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that has been in place since the pandemic began, we will continue to recommend masking and vaccination as strategies to stop the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, we continue to maintain that distancing is an effective mitigation strategy but also recognize that physical distancing can only be maintained to the extent possible.
Students will need to wear masks on school buses and in Head Start programs due to federal mandates.
FCPS staff will need to continue wearing masks in our buildings according to Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) standards.
Families are responsible for setting mask preferences. No student will be required to provide any reason and students will not suffer any consequence as a result of the parental decision.
In-person learning has been our goal since the beginning of school this year and it has taken all of us working together to create safe environments. As always, thank you for your continued support, cooperation, and collaboration as we work together for health, safety and instructional needs.
