Several Huntsville City Schools parents are feeling relieved after the district went over its coronavirus safety protocols at a board meeting.

The main protocol on parents' minds was masking. The district's current masking procedure will stay in place for the rest of the school year.

That means students and staff will have to wear their masks, unless they are eating, drinking or alone in a classroom. Other exceptions include certain extracurricular activities, or if someone has a medical condition that prevents mask wearing.

The health services coordinator for the district, Andrea Penn, said at the board meeting Tuesday that the decision was based off CDC and Alabama Department of Public Health recommendations.

Kathy Stora has two kids within the district. She said she agrees with the statewide mask mandate being lifted, but she understands why the district chose to keep its current protocol.

"No one has even got so much, as much as I mean, barely the sniffles in our home," Stora said. "I think it works. The kids have been doing it the whole year. We might as well continue the same way. We have only 9 weeks of school left. It makes sense."

She added that her two kids have done well with the masks, and it has become a new normal for them.

Penn also confirmed the district will keep Plexiglas barriers in place within the schools. That is despite a new recommendation by the CDC that states they are no longer necessary.