Madison City Schools has over 100 students test positive for COVID

Superintendent details discipline actions for students failing to comply to COVID mitigation plans

MADISON – In the short time period that schools in Madison have been opened, there have been record numbers of positive COVID cases. Madison City Schools superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said Sunday over 100 students tested positive. The new school year started Aug. 4.

“Those students and their families are complying with MCS procedures for being excluded from school until they are cleared for a safe return,” Nichols said. “Our faculty, staff, and students have done a great job following our masking and social distancing mitigation procedures.  This becomes even more important as the number of cases in our school system continues to rise.”

Nichols said the district will be coordinating this week with principals to reevaluate the district’s school schedules to assist with social distancing during the school day. “Currently, students are utilizing the cafeteria. However, starting next week, we will return to meals being held in classrooms,” he added. “Also, other activities will be evaluated and adjusted to lessen the spread of the virus and assist our staff in contact tracing. Our goal is to keep the cases down and be able to continue with our regular school schedule. Many districts in the country are already moving to hybrid and virtual options. I believe that by following the ADPH guidelines, we can continue to avoid this type of schedule disruption.”

Nichols is staying optimistic things will soon change for the better. “My hope is that in a few weeks, we will see a decline in these positive tests and be able to develop a mask optional status for our schools.”

He also detailed what will happen to students for failing to comply with the school district’s mask mandate or other COVID-19 mitigation procedures. “Students for failing to bring a mask to school, for forgetting to bring a mask to school, or for misplacing their masks will not be disciplined. Schools will have spare masks for students.”

If a student disrupts class or school as a part of failing to wear a mask, the student will be subject to the typical consequences in the MCS Code of Student Conduct for disruption.

If a student refuses to put his or her mask back on or to comply with a classroom rule, including COVID-19 mitigation procedures, that student will be subject to typical consequences in the MCS Code of Student Conduct for defiance.

Students who will not wear masks or comply with other aspects of the COVID-19 mitigation procedures will be subject to consequences including, but not limited to, temporary or permanent removal from the property.

If students repeatedly refuse to comply with these procedures, they will be transitioned into asynchronous remote learning with their assignments placed on Schoology until the student complies with the procedures. “While I regret excluding any student from school, I must also enforce the policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Education,” Nichols said.

“In-person learning is our main focus this year, but, in order to ensure safety, we must adhere to our MCS policies<” he added. “Only students allowed in a regular class setting will be those that are masked or have been given an exemption via an IEP or 504 plan.”