CDPH Issues Updated K-12 Schools Guidance for the 2021-22 School Year

Following last week’s issuance of updated K-12 schools guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Monday released the state’s schools guidance for the 2021-22 school year. The CDPH guidance aligns California school policy with the CDC’s guidance, and CDPH has acknowledged the priority to return students to safe and full in-person instruction for the upcoming school year.

CDPH’s guidance emphasizes the use of layered prevention strategies, including wearing masks and maintain a robust testing program. The state continues to require K-12 students to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, and schools must develop and implement local protocols to enforce mask requirements. The CDPH guidance additionally covers areas related to physical distancing, ventilation, isolation and quarantine, screening testing, and other considerations associated with ensuring safe in-person school instruction.

The full CDPH schools guidance for the 2021-22 school year is available here.