The Montgomery County Board of Education on Tuesday voted to lift its mask mandate for public schools, joining the growing ranks of school districts around the country that no longer require students to wear masks.

The decision, made on a unanimous vote, puts Montgomery County’s 160,000-student school system alongside all Virginia public school districts in making masking optional in all school buildings, facilities, and buses. D.C. and Prince George’s County are the only regional school systems that continue to require universal face covering indoors; the two were also the final local jurisdictions to ease their indoor mask mandates. (Later on Tuesday, DC Health lifted the mask mandate for schools in the District. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said the school system would keep its mask mandate in place for now.)

Multiple members of the school board expressed the need for members of the community to respect one another’s individual decisions, amid concerns that students who opt to continue covering their faces might face bullying or pushback.

During public testimony earlier on Tuesday, board president Brenda Wolff implored anti-masking attendees who jeered pro-mask speakers to “stop being disrespectful. If we can’t do that, we’re going to have to clear the room.”

Members of the crowd booed when tenth grader Yaela Teplinksy, who has been learning virtually since March 2020 said, “I don’t like wearing a mask anymore than the next person. But I know that sometimes it’s necessary, and more than that, it provides an atmosphere of safety that’s real. Do we really want to make kids feel less safe in schools right now?”

A student member of the board previously faced a barrage of negative comments on social media for advocating for keeping a mask mandate.

Interim superintendent Monifa B. McKnight said that the school system would be launching a campaign to “promote respect for each other’s decision … to make sure that every staff member in all of our facilities and every student feels that their opinion and their choice, no matter what it is, is to be respected.”

She added that the district would continue to monitor COVID-19 data and revisit the necessity of universal masking.

The Maryland State Board of Education cleared the way for the decision by voting to drop the statewide mask mandate for schools, which allowed local districts to determine their own policies starting March 1.

McKnight said the school system would continue other forms of mitigation, like its testing program, vaccination offerings, and additional cleaning, will continue.

This post has been updated with news about D.C. Health lifting the District’s mask mandate in schools.