PITTSBURGH — The majority of students and staff members in Pittsburgh Public Schools will soon be able to forgo wearing masks in school buildings under certain circumstances for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school board voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to change the district's health and safety plan to make masking optional when the community level of COVID-19 in Allegheny County is considered to be low under federal guidelines.

The district said the new policy will begin sometime next week, on a date that will soon be determined. Additionally, there will still be times that masking will be necessary even if the community level is low, which is the level where Allegheny County currently stands.

The new plan would have gone into effect immediately, but board member Pam Harbin requested additional time so schools can communicate with families and make accommodations for immunocompromised children and students with disabilities.

"It is a critical protection for in-person learning for (some) students," Harbin said. "So my ask is that we please inform these families first and not just turn the switch tomorrow because that may be doing a disservice, and those students just won't be able to come to school and I don't think that that's right."

In some cases, it may be necessary for a class or even an entire school to wear masks so that immunocompromised students can take part in in-person instruction, Harbin said. Those instances would be determined on a case-by-case basis, according to district solicitor Ira Weiss.

In addition, the district's COVID-19 response team, in consultation with the district physician and the Allegheny County Health Department may recommend more stringent masking measures in response to an outbreak. The district has not defined what exactly constitutes as an outbreak.

Students and staff members will also have to wear masks when returning to school after a COVID-19 quarantine.