The Old Rochester Joint School Committee met on Aug. 26 to discuss reopening plans for Tri-Town schools as the new academic year quickly approaches.

The Committee planned to address the question of masking in schools but a recent Department of Elementary and Secondary Education decision requiring all Massachusetts students over the age of five to wear masks took the issue out of the local board’s hands.

Instead, the meeting focused on other procedures and policies that the schools will use in relation to the covid pandemic which has recently surged once again as the more contagious delta variant has become the dominant strain of the virus.

“I know many of us were hoping for this school year to begin with a greater sense of normalcy for all,” said Superintendent Mike Nelson. “I was hoping for the same; and although we may not all agree on the best way to reopen schools, I’m hoping that we can all agree to support the greater good in the school community as a whole.”

One of the most significant policy changes will allow students who opt in to covid testing to take rapid antigen tests on-site in order to avoid or reduce quarantine times.

Symptomatic students with isolated or mild symptoms who receive a negative test result will be allowed to stay in school.

Similarly, students who are considered close contacts will be allowed to stay at school provided they consent to daily testing. After five consecutive negative test results the tests will stop.

The schools have also adjusted the criteria for determining whether a student is considered a close contact.

Asymptomatic students who are vaccinated, for example, will be exempt from quarantine and testing protocols for close contacts. The same will be true for students who have been in close contact with a covid positive person while wearing a mask on the school bus or in a classroom setting, provided that students are sitting at least three feet apart.

Students who have had and recovered from covid in the previous 90 days will also be exempt from the protocols.

“If we’re able to maintain at least three feet between individuals — now knowing there’s a mask mandate through at least October 1 — it allows us to keep a higher number of students from becoming close contacts,” said Nelson.

Keeping students out of quarantine will be a crucial goal for the schools because DESE has removed the option for students to attend classes virtually, even if quarantined. Likewise, no changes have been made to attendance policies regarding quarantined students.

“Remote learning does not count as structured learning time at this point, anymore,” said Nelson. “So students that are out — no matter the circumstances — must be marked absent per the [Department of Education] current policy.”