COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County Schools announced it will be expanding its online learning program into the Spring Semester.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said families can apply for the Cobb Online Learning Academy later this Fall. Parents can also enroll their children in the elementary virtual program.
Spots will be limited and handed out through a lottery system, the school system said.
On Thursday, Ragsdale announced masks will remain optional and there will be changes to the school district's quarantine policy.
Cobb County is the only Atlanta-area school district that doesn’t require masks for in-person learning. The school district reported last week close to 600 active COVID cases in schools.
"Masks are strongly encouraged, but they will remain optional at this time," the school district said in a part in a release. "When looking at school districts that have mask mandates in place, some districts have higher numbers than us, while some have lower numbers than us."
The school district also said, "mandatory masking is not without a cost. We recognize that there are negative impacts to school-age children properly wearing a mask during the duration of the school day. The data analysis is obviously very complex during this pandemic."
The announcement comes as nearly 200 people were protesting outside of the school district's board meeting for different reasons on Thursday. While some support the district keeping masks optional, others see a mask mandate as the district's only way out of a rise in COVID cases.