OMAHA- The Omaha Public Schools will join a growing number of Nebraska school districts requiring students to wear masks indoors when they return to classrooms next week.

The same for teachers and parents, though there will be some exceptions.

School board members voted Monday to require all people to wear masks indoors at school, effective Tuesday.

Students won’t have to wear them outdoors, so not for recess or activities like marching band. Students will be allowed to remove the masks while eating and drinking.

If teachers or staff are alone in their classrooms or offices, they will be allowed to unmask.

The resolution adopted by the board also allows people to go without a mask “when doing so creates a greater health, safety or security risk to the individual or public.”

“We have an issue in this country with a variant,” board member Tracy Casady said, “and until we can get a handle on it, I think this is the best possible solution we can do in our community to try to get our kids back in school and keep them there.”

The vote was 8-1, with Spencer Head voting no.

Head tried unsuccessfully to amend the resolution to have the mask mandate sunset Oct. 18, unless the board took action before then to extend it.

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