KITCHENER -- All students in the Upper Grand District School Board will need to wear masks when they return to school in September.
This includes students in junior kindergarten to Grade 3. Trustees say for these students, staff will approach compliance with a focus on education.
The trustees passed a motion requiring masks for all students, staff and visitors when inside their schools. There will be medical exemptions as necessary, the school board said.
Trustees have also asked the school board to look into face shields for students who can't wear masks.
There will be "progressive disciplinary action" for students not complying, according to the school board.
The school board also decided to make masks mandatory on buses.
Students in the UGDSB will return to classes full-time, with regular class sizes, in September.
The provincial government said students in Grades 4 to 12 would need to wear masks in indoor settings.
On Monday night, the Waterloo Region District School Board also voted to make masks mandatory for all students.
