Key TakeawaysThe highly transmissible Delta variant is making returning to in-person schooling tricky.Currently, children under 12 years of age are not eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.The best protection for children who are returning back to school who cannot get vaccinated is wearing a mask, social distancing, and good hand hygiene, such as frequent hand washing.

Key Takeaways

The highly transmissible Delta variant is making returning to in-person schooling tricky.Currently, children under 12 years of age are not eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.The best protection for children who are returning back to school who cannot get vaccinated is wearing a mask, social distancing, and good hand hygiene, such as frequent hand washing.

As summer slows, schools and families are gearing up for the back-to-school season. This year, many schools will be navigating in-person learning for the first time since the start of the pandemic. But as they welcome children back into the classroom, schools will now also be tasked with preventing the Delta variant from spreading.

“The Delta variant is much more transmissible than the original virus," Kristen Navarette, MD, MPH, pediatrician and medical director of MVP Health Care, tells Verywell. “So that means that kids will be infected more easily.”

Children under 12 still aren’t approved to receive COVID-19 vaccines. And mask guidance for schools remains a mismatched patchwork nationwide.

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What Precautions Should Schools Be Taking?

When sending your child to in-person schooling this fall, it’s a good idea to check in on the precautions the school is implementing.

Will Indiana University’s Vaccination Ruling Set a Precedent for Colleges?

Viruses mutate over a period of time, according toUzma Hasan, MD, division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and assistant professor at RWJ-Rutgers Medical School.

“Sometimes, the mutations make them [viruses] more contagious and spread more readily or cause more severe illness," Hasan tells Verywell.

Hasan adds that schools should have adequate ventilation. The CDC recommends the following ventilation precautions:

CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks in COVID-19 Hotspots

You can also consider establishing a COVID pod for the fall term—a small group of students and families that meet regularly to learn and socialize together. “Whenever we can, [we should] stick with those pods as we learn more about the Delta variant,” Navarette says.

What This Means For YouIf you are located in a state where a mask mandate does not exist at the school level, experts recommend sending your children to school masked. To learn more about COVID-19 prevention in schools, visit the CDC’s guide.

What This Means For You

If you are located in a state where a mask mandate does not exist at the school level, experts recommend sending your children to school masked. To learn more about COVID-19 prevention in schools, visit the CDC’s guide.

Children Should Be Wearing Masks

On August 2,the U.S. Department of Education released a return to school roadmap,which cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance on masking. The CDC recommends “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.”

The U.S. Department of Education alsorecommends a few key itemsparents should add to their checklist when preparing for the upcoming school year:Make a plan for eligible children to get vaccinatedTalk to your school about health and safety protocolsIf your child isn’t eligible yet for a vaccine, talk with them about strategies to keep them safe at achoolMake a plan to access safe transportation to and from schoolTalk to your child’s teacher about your child’s needsConnect to support

The U.S. Department of Education alsorecommends a few key itemsparents should add to their checklist when preparing for the upcoming school year:

Still, mask mandates are dependent on school policies and state laws.

While some schools will implement mask mandates, others face an astronomical amount of pressure from their own state. In Texas, South Carolina, and Iowa, legislators passed laws banning schools from requiring students and staff to wear masks.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantisissued an executive orderthreatening to cut funding from school districts that implement mask mandates in the state.

What the Updated CDC Mask Guidance Means for K-12 Students

If your child’s school does not implement mask-wearing policies, you should consider enforcing mask-wearing in your household anyway. Navarette implores parents to send their children to school in masks, despite local guidance. “Wearing masks is a great way to protect yourself and those around you," Navarette says. “The best protection is when everyone is wearing masks to help prevent spreading from an infected person to a non-infected person.”

“We know that kids absolutely need to return to in-person learning," Navarette adds. “That’s really critical for their social, emotional, and academic wellbeing. But we do need all these different layers of protection against COVID-19 in places so that can happen safely.”

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.

2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.John Hopkins University.Demystifying The Delta Variant With Data.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools.

2 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.John Hopkins University.Demystifying The Delta Variant With Data.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

John Hopkins University.Demystifying The Delta Variant With Data.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools.

John Hopkins University.Demystifying The Delta Variant With Data.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools.

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