D.C. Public Schools will lift its indoor face mask requirement next week, joining several other school systems in the Washington region that have recently done the same.

Masks will be optional for students, staff and visitors inside buildings starting Wednesday, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said in a Friday letter to families. The school system lifted its outdoor mask mandate earlier this month.

“I want to strongly reiterate that all our students and staff are welcome to continue to wear a mask if they choose, and we will actively promote a climate where this choice is respected,” Ferebee said.

Masks will also be optional on school buses and during all school activities.

Earlier in the week, D.C. Health reversed its universal masking requirement for schools and childcare facilities. That gave authority to D.C. Public Schools, the city’s traditional school system, and individual charter operators to make their own decisions on masking.

At the time, Ferebee said the 50,000-student school system would maintain its requirement until it could get feedback from unions representing school workers.

Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, the president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, which represents 5,000 educators, said the group would not immediately oppose any plans to lift the mask requirement.

In an interview earlier in the week, Lyons said she initially hoped the school system would wait until after spring break in April to lift the requirement. But she said she felt comfortable with the decision because it aligns with recently updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends masking in schools only in communities at a high level of risk from the coronavirus.

The District is currently experiencing a low level of community risk. That means COVID-19 is causing low levels of severe illness and resulting in limited strain on the healthcare system.

Lyons said D.C. Public Schools should be prepared to reinstate the mask requirement if the risk level increases.

“We have always followed the science but, as usual, we have to be able to pivot if things change,” she said.

School systems across the Washington region have recently made face coverings optional inside school buildings.

The Montgomery County Board of Education  unanimously voted earlier this week to lift its mandate for the 160,000-student school system in suburban Maryland.

And school systems in Northern Virginia were among the first in the region to reverse mask mandates after Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a law in February banning districts from requiring face coverings on campuses.