LAS VEGAS — Clark County school officials say children will have to wear face coverings when they return to in-person classes in less than two weeks.
A Clark County School District announcement Tuesday that the school year will begin under a mask mandate is likely to stir passions among parents who've pleaded for classes to fully reopen after COVID-19 pandemic closures, but have vocally opposed masks and vaccinations.
The district cited "the current high transmission rates of COVID-19" and said students and staff members — vaccinated or not — will be required to wear masks indoors and on buses unless there are medical or developmental reasons they can't.
The announcement cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics and Southern Nevada Health District recommendations.
It also pointed to ongoing vaccination drives in the Las Vegas area.
The district is the nation's fifth-largest, with about 315,000 students and 350 schools.
Las Vegas-area students had "distance learning" online classes for almost all the last school year.
Schools reopen Aug. 9.
