Parents of young students may decide to include masks on their 'school supply' lists, should they choose to follow new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The AAP announced Monday that it supports in-person learning but suggests that everyone on campus over the age of two, whether vaccinated or not, wear masks while on school grounds.

This suggestion means children and all school staff would wear masks while on campus, unless they have a medical or developmental condition that would prevent them from doing so.

This new guidance from the AAP differs from what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been suggesting.

The CDC, while also recommending in-person learning, says fully vaccinated students, teachers and staff don't need to wear masks at school.

That said, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised the advice of the AAP as balanced, telling CNN, "When you have a degree of viral dynamics in the community and you have a substantial proportion of the population that is unvaccinated, you really want to go the extra step, the extra mile, to make sure that there is not a lot of transmission, even breakthrough infections among vaccinated individuals."

Fauci went on to say, "I think that the American Academy of Pediatrics (is) a thoughtful group. They analyze the situation, and if they feel that that's the way to go, I think that is a reasonable thing to do," he said.

While officials want students to resume in-person learning where possible, they also acknowledge that COVID-related precautions such as masking up and the regular washing and sanitizing of hands will make in-person learning safe for all involved.