It's back to the classrooms for more than 260,000 Broward County students. More than 70,000 of them are taking school buses.
Only students with medical exemptions are able to opt out of mask mandates but School Board Chair Dr. Rosalind Osgood says policies can change.
"This is not just a one time thing. This pandemic has continued for 18 months, and we don't see that it's going to be ending any time soon."
Realizing there will be COVID in classrooms, Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl says quarantined students will be able to participate in classroom learning remotely.
Miami-Dade School Board members are expected to finalize their district's COVID protocols today, with the first day of school being Monday. It's medical task force recommends mandatory student masking with only medical exemptions.
Both districts support those 12 and older get the vaccine, with Broward offering extra incentives for its employees.