Health and safety protocols implemented last school year are recommended to continue to the greatest extent possible for the 2021-2022 school year, including ventilation filtration and outdoor air exchange and flow.  

• Masks are optional for all students, staff and visitors in CCS buildings and on school buses beginning Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Any student or staff member may wear a mask inside CCS buildings, during class and during extracurricular activities if they choose to do so.
• Maintain at least 3 foot social distancing when practical.
• Handwashing and hand sanitizing regularly (hand sanitizer will be available in all buildings and classrooms);
• Water fountains will not be used; bottled water will be provided; the use of refillable water bottles is encouraged.

• In your elbow when coughing or sneezing;
• In a tissue and throw away immediately after use;
• In your mask;
• Wash/sanitize hands after any of the above.

The process for breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria is determined on a building-by-building basis. Check with your student’s principal for information specific to their school.

Student lockers will be used; at least 3 feet social distancing when practical.

Restrooms and lunchroom: at least 3 feet social distancing when practical.

On Thursday, March 10, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed Franklin County's COVID-19 Community Level to green (or Low).

In response, on April 1, 2022, Columbus City Schools' classrooms and school activities may return to pre-pandemic routines and structures.

We will also return to our pre-COVID-19 visitor policy.

Masks are optional for all students, staff, and visitors in CCS buildings and on school buses as of Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Masking recommendations may change based on COVID-19 Community Levels as provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Individuals are encouraged to make masking decisions based on their unique situation and level of health risk.

Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to mask if they return to school/work on days 6-10 of their isolation period.

Yes. The second layer of protection after masks is hand washing. We will ensure that all students and staff wash their hands and sanitize many times during the school day. All schools and District administrative buildings will have hand sanitizer available.

Click HERE to see the Ohio Department of Health Mask to Stay and Test to Play recommendations for schools.

Please keep your child home and get them tested if they are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 according to this list:  

• Fever 100.4 F or greater.
• Diarrhea/Nausea/Vomiting
• New or worsened cough
• New onset severe headache
• Shortness of breath
• Congestion/runny nose
• Sore throat
• Fatigue/ Body Aches
• New loss of taste and or smell

• All school buildings must identify a health separation room where a student or staff member who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms can wait until they are able to leave the building. The school should also include a plan on how the health separation room will operate.
• When a member of the CCS community is in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, CCS will recommend that contacts follow the Ohio Department of Health’s exposure guidance.
• Students and staff who are exposed at school or in the community may return to their school building as long as they remain asymptomatic.
• All close contacts should continue to monitor for symptoms for 14 days after close contact with a person with COVID-19 even though quarantine is not required.

No, a student is not permitted to ride on a school bus to get home if they are showing symptoms of COVID-19.

The school nurse or designee will determine if the student is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms consistent with the ODH algorithm. If they are showing symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, the student will be transitioned to the school’s designated separation room.

The building principal or school staff member will call the parent/guardian to pick up the student as soon as possible.

Columbus City Schools does not release any specific student data counts if the number is fewer than 10, as personal information in those instances may become identifiable. This applies to any public record that CCS releases, not just the COVID-19 Dashboard.

The CATS dashboard is updated weekly on Wednesday via OSU. School-based data for the CCS dashboard is generated and collected on Thursday. The CCS dashboard may not be updated until Friday to allow staff time to collect the data and populate the Tableau-based dashboard.

Columbus City Schools wants to ensure that all school and classroom environments are conducive to learning. CCS will use many of the strategies that we have in previous years for increasing airflow and mitigating the heat in schools that do not have building-wide air conditioning. This includes:

• Increasing Circulation

• We try to keep the air moving in the halls and classrooms. We make every effort to have as many fans as possible in these buildings, and we have deployed additional industrial-sized fans and box fans to our buildings.

• Custodians will open windows and turn on fans early, so the air is circulating even before the entire staff and students arrive.

• Efficient Ventilation

• Ventilation systems will bring fresh air into the building.

• All CCS buildings have ventilation systems in place even if there is no building-wide air conditioning. 

• CCS will use MERV-13 air filters, which are efficient at capturing airborne viruses, in its buildings where possible.

• Creative Learning Spaces

• Schools have the autonomy to be creative with their learning spaces, taking advantage of outdoor learning opportunities, during the warmer weather. 

• We also encourage staff and students to take regular “mask breaks” outdoors when possible. 

• In some schools, while each classroom does not have A/C, there are common areas (such as the computer lab or library) that do. Schools are able to plan additional learning time in those locations.

• Hydration

• We will ensure each school building has an ample supply of bottled water on hand for students and staff.

CCS will continue to monitor the weather as it relates to the heat. We will make decisions for our schools without building-wide air conditioning that balance the health and safety of students and staff with the need to serve our students and families.

Yes, CCS will provide a safe work environment in all of its buildings. All CCS buildings have ventilation systems to bring fresh air into the building, even if there is no building-wide air conditioning. 

The CDC recommends MERV-13 or higher filters. Columbus City Schools uses MERV-14 filters in Facility Masterplan Buildings.  We utilize mechanical forced air systems to supply fresh air to every classroom. Our classrooms are designed to receive fresh air through a centralized air handling system or room-specific ventilation. Also, each K-12 music room is provided with a commercial Austin Air HealthMate Air Filter unit.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued various guidance documents regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest update entitled “Ventilation in Buildings,” dated June 2, 2021, provided a summary of recent changes.

In this document, the CDC recommends a “layered” approach to reduce COVID exposures utilizing multiple mitigation strategies. This layered approach includes physical distancing, the wearing of face masks, hand hygiene, and vaccination in addition to building ventilation improvements. According to this guidance, these tools should be implemented at the same time to increase the effectiveness of ventilation interventions. 

This guidance also identifies ways in which building operators can improve ventilation and references a May 2020 article in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Journal. The guidance outlined in this article states that “social distancing, surface cleaning and disinfection, handwashing, and other strategies of good hygiene are far more important than anything related to the HVAC system.”

The recommendations from the ASHRAE article focus on increasing outdoor air ventilation, and they recommend MERV-13 filters if the HVAC system is compatible with their use.

Although filtration is an important aspect of building operations, filter selection is dictated by the design and airflow capacity of the system. Higher efficiency filters such as MERV-13 or MERV-14 filters are not appropriate for every air handling system.

Columbus City Schools uses MERV filters that are appropriate for the air handling system in each of its school buildings:

FMP Buildings

Through Segments 1, 2, and 3A, Columbus City Schools has completed the construction and/or renovation of 48 school buildings since 2004 under the Facilities Master Plan (FMP). Of these buildings:

• 45 are equipped with MERV-14 air filters
• 3 are equipped with MERV-8 air filters

Operation Fix-It Buildings

Issue 57, passed in 2016, allowed CCS to embark on a program to address deferred maintenance on non-FMP buildings in the areas of roofing repairs, HVAC overhaul, safety and security, fire alarm replacements, plumbing upgrades, asphalt and concrete, lighting upgrades, and electrical system repair and upgrades. 

The majority of our 66 non-FMP buildings have MERV-8 filters installed. Of the non-FMP buildings:

• 1 has MERV-13 filters, and 
• 65 buildings have MERV-8 filters.

Click here for a listing of all school buildings sorted by FMP and filter type.

General system type descriptions and adequacy points below:

Individual room units

• Description: Each classroom has an HVAC device, such as a unit ventilator or heat pump that individually uses fans to bring fresh, filtered air in. This fresh, filtered air is mixed with recirculated air from that room only.  
• Adequacy: Having each room generally isolated from the building makes building-wide disease transmission much less likely. Fresh air introduction into that room dilutes pollutants and reduces transmission likelihood. The primary disease spread vector continues to be short distance transmission which is not related to the building’s HVAC system.

Central air handlers

• Description: each classroom is connected to a larger system that combines rooms together, sending each of them fresh, filtered air. This fresh, filtered air travels a distance with a mix of recirculated air from multiple classrooms.
• Adequacy: The duct lengths, dilution with outside air, and dwell times in those ducts reduces the likelihood that airborne viruses survive the journey. The primary disease spread vector continues to be short distance transmission which is not related to the building's HVAC system.

Dedicated outside air system

• Description: Each classroom is connected to an HVAC device that sends 100% fresh air directly into a classroom. This works in conjunction with a separate HVAC device that recirculates air in individual rooms while adding or removing heat.
• Adequacy: Having each room generally isolated from the building makes building-wide disease transmission much less likely. Fresh air introduction into that room dilutes pollutants and reduces transmission likelihood. The primary disease spread vector continues to be short distance transmission which is not related to the building's HVAC system.