LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In the final weekend before more than 310,000 students return to in-person learning in the Clark County School District; teachers, administrators, and police forces across the Las Vegas valley are making final preparations to keep kids safe.
As the Delta variant of COVID-19 pushes the region's positivity rate above 15%, according to the Southern Nevada Health District, the virus has once again taken center stage in safety policies heading into the school year.
The district reestablished a once dropped mask mandate for all teachers and staff.
Superintendent Jesus Jara said it would be up to school leaders and staff to monitor and enforce the mask mandate, but students would bear personal responsibility for keeping everyone safe as well.
"Our kids will be following all the direction and directives," Jara said. "Our number one priority is to make sure we've got all of our children in the classroom with our teachers and our educators with our building leaders, and I trust them. They're going to follow the protocols, and we're going to have school. Look, everybody is so excited around what we're doing: bringing our kids back."
One threat to kids that is not new to the district occurs outside of the classroom.
School police along with officers from Las Vegas metropolitan, North Las Vegas, and Henderson police departments are joining forces to crack down on drivers breaking the laws in school zones.
Police say 42 kids were injured by cars while walking to school or on school grounds between 2019 to 2020. They're reminding drivers that it is illegal to pass other cars, speed, or conduct a u-turn while in an active school zone.
