Area schools have announced plans for the 2020-2021 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the outbreak of the coronavirus, plans for starting school back in the fall have been up in the air.

Brookhaven and Lincoln County schools will begin classes on Aug. 6. However, the learning environment will be different.

Lincoln County School District has announced the four county schools will begin the school year with their traditional in-person class schedule.

LCSD recommends parents purchase at least two washable masks for their child to wear to school.

The Brookhaven School District may implement alternative schedules, meaning some students could attend classes on some but not all days of the week in order to keep the number of students on a school campus limited  at any one time.

However, the final decision on alternating class days has not been made.

The Mississippi School of the Arts has tentatively set its first day of school for Aug. 3 with plans in place for both face-to-face and online instruction.

Brookhaven Academy will begin the school year on Aug. 5.

Like secondary schools, community colleges and universities are making adjustments in order to work around the potential of spreading the coronavirus.

Copiah-Lincoln Community College plans in person classes to begin  on Aug. 17.

Classes will be taught in a hybrid format, meaning some will be face-to-face and online instruction will be used.