Students at Philadelphia public schools can once again chose to go maskless starting Monday.
The School District of Philadelphia announced Friday that masking would become optional again in schools starting Monday, April 25.
Philadelphia public schools initially dropped mask requirements on March 9, following the city Public Health Department's decision to end a citywide indoor mask mandate. But, that move came with the caveat of coming back from spring break masked for the week of April 18. Last week, the city also briefly returned to an indoor public space mask mandate that didn't even last the whole week.
Students can still opt to wear masks if they would like.
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The school district said that some its youngest students will remain masked. "The School District of Philadelphia will resume optional mask wearing for students and staff, except those in PreK Head Start programs where masking is required by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services."
Students who want to wear a mask can pick one up in schools offices.
The district continues to encouraged students and their families to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Any student with COVID symptoms can get tested at one of five mobile testing sites, the district said.
