As the new school year approaches, it is our desire to provide school policies that both reflect the values of our student body as well as provide a safe environment for the education of our students. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a fluid situation with ebbs and flows. Neither the Bucks County Commissioners nor the Buck County Health Department have the authority to dictate how independent schools manage their student body. FBCA holds fast to the belief that the full return to school is critically important to the educational development of our students.

...to perform a symptom screening on their children prior to putting them on a bus or bringing them to school.
Symptoms include:

- Fever greater than 100.3 degrees
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Headaches
- Body aches
- Fatigue
- Loss/altered sense of taste or smell
- Diarrhea
- Runny nose/congestion

...to have a plan in place should their student need to be picked up from school.

...to communicate ahead of time (if possible) with the office and alert them to any pre-existing conditions, such as allergies or another chronic medical condition that often cause some of the same symptoms as COVID-19. This allows for a plan to be made and put in place in the event symptoms develop during school.

For the start of the year, we will not be requiring masks for students or staff and will be adopting a mask-optional policy. Parents have the responsibility to make the necessary decisions for the health of their children, including masking their children regardless of school masking policies.

Each school district will have their own policies regarding the use of masks/face coverings. Students will be responsible for following school district guidelines; if students fail to comply with their school district guidelines, they may lose the provided transportation.

FBCA will make efforts to distance student desks when feasible while still prioritizing the importance of in-person instruction. There is no need to limit classroom capacity at this time.

FBCA does not require students or staff to receive vaccines to participate in school activities. Parents have the responsibility to make the necessary decisions for the health of their family.

Any student/staff exhibiting fever or multiple symptoms will be excluded from all school activities until those symptoms have resolved and are fever-free for 24 hours without medication.

Any student/staff who test positive but are fully asymptomatic will be excluded from any school activities for 3 days to ensure they are not pre-symptomatic.

Any fully asymptomatic student/staff with a known non-ongoing exposure to COVID-19 may continue in school normally unless any symptoms develop.

Any fully asymptomatic student/staff with an ongoing household exposure to COVID-19 will be excluded from school activities until the affected family member is fever-free for 24 hours.