Some COVID-19 guidelines will remain in place as students begin to return to the classroom on Tuesday.
All students and staff will have to wear masks in common indoor areas such as hallways, but not in the classroom.
Masks will become optional in high schools once 90 per cent of people aged 12 to 19 in their health zone are fully vaccinated.
For high schools that also have students under the age of 12, mask-wearing in common areas will continue until further notice.
Everyone travelling on a school bus will also be required to wear a mask at all times.
School and district staff, as with all provincial government employees, will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo regular testing.
When unveiling the back-to-school guidelines last month, Education Minister Dominic Cardy said they need to protect those who cannot yet get vaccinated, such as students under the age of 12.
“We know that some older students, students of all ages, staff as well who are immunocompromised cannot get vaccinated. We need to protect them,” said Cardy.
Classroom bubbles for K-8 students have been eliminated and high school students are returning to full-time, in-person learning.
Music classes and extracurricular activities will also be allowed to take place without restrictions, but visitors will continue to be limited.
Students will regularly disinfect desks and other commonly touched surfaces, and teachers of all grade levels are encouraged to hold activities and learning outdoors when the weather permits.
Fans will not be allowed in classrooms. School staff will only be allowed to use them if they are alone in a classroom or office.
If the outdoor temperature or humidex value is 36 degrees or above, students will be learning from home.
When a COVID-19 case is confirmed within a school, students will transition to home learning for at least one calendar day to allow for contact tracing and a risk assessment.
Schools must be prepared to transition to at-home learning, restrict extracurricular, sports or music activities, or bubble classrooms under advice from Public Health in the event of an outbreak.
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