State public health officials say all schools should require masks for students and staff in the classroom. But they left it up to North Carolina's 116 local school boards to decide on whether or not to make masks mandatory.

County and local school boards across the state have been holding special meetings to debate mask requirements and other coronavirus safety measures. On Aug. 2 alone, 21 school boards were scheduled to meet on face masks.

Masks in schools is a divisive issue. Parents and other protesters have shown up at school board meetings around North Carolina to oppose mask requirements. Other parents have spoken in favor of masks, concerned about rising case numbers and the delta variant.

As of Aug. 12, at least 49 school districts, mostly in rural and suburban areas, have voted to reject the state guidelines and make masks optional, according to information gathered by Spectrum News 1 and the North Carolina School Boards Association. Urban districts, including Wake, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Guilford and Forsyth, have voted to require everyone to wear masks inside school buildings.

Most traditional calendar schools in North Carolina start on Aug. 23.