Update: Additional schools are now joining OPS in keeping kids indoors today because of the air quality. We will continue to update this story as we confirm additional districts:
- Omaha Public Schools
- Bellevue Public Schools
- Blair Public Schools
- Plattsmouth Community Schools
- Millard Public Schools
- Westside Public Schools
Questions about individual activities, events and practices should be directed to your local school.
You won't see any kids running around outside Thursday at public schools in Omaha. The district announced that because of the concerns around air quality, students would be kept indoors Thursday.
SEE ALSO: 6 things you can do to stay safe during poor air quality
OPS also canceled all athletic competitions and said practices will be moved indoors.
The drop in air quality, which prompted an "unhealthy" alert from Douglas County, is believed to be related to agricultural burns in Kansas and southeast Nebraska
MORE: Wildfires in Oklahoma and Kansas causing air quality concerns in Nebraska
Complete statement from OPS:
In the interest of ensuring the safety of our children, we have decided to keep Omaha Public Schools students inside Thursday, April 14, 2016 — including physical education classes — and we will continue to monitor community air quality.
We have also canceled all athletic competition and will hold practices indoors.
We apologize for any inconvenience, but are making decisions based on the safety of our students and advice from the Douglas County Health Department as well as our own OPS health officials.
Extensive burning in the Midwest, especially the Flint Hills area of Kansas and areas in Nebraska east of Beatrice, have exposed people in Lincoln and all of Southeast Nebraska to unhealthy levels of smoke.
We will continue to monitor local air quality due to regional fires. You can also monitor conditions at www.airnow.gov.
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