On Tuesday, Central Florida students will head back into the classroom to start the new school year.

As they do, not all will be wearing masks.

Both Orange County and Seminole County Public Schools issued mask requirements for students — with the option for parents to opt their kids out of it.

Alicia Farrant is choosing to do that for her children, including her two youngest, Jethro and LJ.

“I like art. I like P.E. I like pretty much just going to class and seeing all my friends," Jethro said, of his favorite parts about going to school.

Jethro is sliding into the school year with a goal already in mind.

“Something that he said going into this school year is that he just wants to make sure he goes and finds kids that he feels are feeling alone or feeling left to the side," said his mother, Alicia Farrant. "He wants to bring them in and feel included, whether they have a mask on or don’t have a mask on.”

Farrant says, when it comes to kids wearing mask, she thinks it’s about finding the right fit, depending on the family’s needs.

For hers, she says, if there’s one thing the last school year taught her is that Jethro and LJ are better off without.

“Every day they would come home and say ‘please is there any way I can go without a mask on?," said Farrant. “Both of them regressed. They did not like to go to school. They were very shy. The masks made them feel sensitive and irritable.”

Come Tuesday, she’ll be sending them off with notes to opt out.

She believes that will opt them in to their best outcome for learning.

“My kids all love being in school with their friends, having a teacher. Just that whole setting I think works the best for them," said Farrant.

As the COVID-19 delta variant continues to spread and affect younger people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all people in K-12 schools wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.

The mask mandate will be in place for 30 days starting Tuesday.

Before that 30 days is up, school leaders say they will have decided how best to move forward from there.​

Some school districts are not changing their mask policies.

For example, Sumter and Flagler school officials confirmed Monday that masks remain optional for both students and teachers, but they do recommend face coverings. 

In Lake County, officials said masks are encouraged for both students and teachers but are not required at this time. The school board will meet Monday night, and "safety protocols" are expected to be on the agenda. However, the agenda item was added primarily because of a change in quarantine recommendations from Florida’s surgeon general, a district spokesperson said.

Osceola County school officials also said masks remain optional in that district.

The Brevard County School Board has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, and face coverings are expected to be a topic of discussion. At this time, the district does not have a mask mandate.