Dear parents and guardians,

Over the past several months, CUSD administration has gathered feedback from a number of sources to develop the Opening School COVID Plan for the 2021-2022 school year. The initial draft of the plan was distributed on April 27, 2021 to gather feedback from the following groups: Site COVID committees and site councils at all elementary, junior high and high schools; Chandler Education Association representatives; district COVID committee members and district administration. Parent feedback was also gathered from the many emails sent to district administration, governing board members, and site administration. 

Although we recognize there are varying perspectives on mitigation strategies, CUSD has outlined a plan for opening schools for the 2021-22 school year.  Primary aspects of the plan are as follows:

• Face coverings will be optional for the 2021-22 school year.  School sites will maintain a heightened awareness of student and staff behavior regarding mask bullying.
• If mandated by Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) or Executive Order, CUSD will require masks for students and staff.

Additional mitigation strategies may be implemented in the event that COVID-19 cases increase in our community and in our schools. In the absence of specific mitigation requirements by MCDPH or Executive Order, CUSD will consider additional mitigation strategies when both of the following criteria are met:

• Both MCDPH COVID-19 indicators are red (indicating "High Community Spread")
• CUSD site data indicates high spread on our campuses, at these thresholds: Elementary – 2% positive active cases; Junior High – 1.5% positive active cases; High School – 1% positive active cases.

Click here for more details about the mitigation strategies in effect in CUSD for the 2021-22 school year as of June 1, 2021.

We will continue to monitor the guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) throughout the summer and as the new school year begins.

Despite input from parents, staff and district administration, we recognized the difficulty in reaching consensus around a plan to open our schools.  CUSD's focus has been, and will always be, on our students and staff. A strong partnership between parents, students and teachers will continue to be the cornerstone of CUSD's success.  Thank you for your continued support.