Hundreds of students headed back to the classroom Monday, some following new COVID guidelines for the spring semester. This is the third calendar year that COVID has affected the classrooms. Thirty-eight county school systems require masks in schools, including Kanawha.The latest guidance from the state Department of Education includes a shorter quarantine period for anyone who tests positive at five days. Students and staff at schools with mask mandates do not have to quarantine if they were exposed to someone who has COVID as long as masks were being worn at the time.