MISSION, Kan. — Kansas schools are weighing whether to keep or reimpose mask mandates as the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant sends case numbers soaring to record levels and strains hospitals.
In suburban Kansas City, the board for the 27,000-student Shawnee Mission school district narrowly voted Monday night to allow a mask-optional policy to take effect for middle- and high-schoolers when classes resume Wednesday.
The crowd interrupted so frequently that the board president twice shut the meeting down before removing the audience.
