The long-awaited return of on-campus students and teacher interactions begins on Monday for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which was forced into remote teaching by the pandemic.

Returning students face a brave new world of learning, but some familiar practices will be in place. Recess, lunch on campus, after-school programs, athletics and other extracurricular activities will be in place.

Masks will be required when inside classrooms or other school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. The surge of the delta variation has skyrocketed new cases, and the worrisome lambda variation has made its first area appearance.

All LAUSD employees, regular contractors and parent volunteers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 15, interim Supt. Megan Reilly has ordered. Students are not affected by the order, which has been backed by the teachers union.

As of today, an LAUSD spokeswoman said more than 12,500 students selected online independent learning rather than return to campus. That total is just under 3% of the district’s total enrollment.