OTTAWA -- The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has voted for students to return to the classroom full-time in September.

In a unanimous vote Friday, the board voted that it issue a recommendation to the province that students return to school five days a week this fall.

“It has always been our board’s preference that we start with full-time school in our schools in September,” board chair Lynn Scott told CTV News at Noon.

The vote comes after a meeting Thursday evening stretched into Friday morning. At the meeting Thursday night, Ottawa’s medical officer of health recommended sending students back to school five days a week.

The fallback option –a hybrid model featuring part-time in school and part-time remote learning—was “never what anybody really wanted,” Scott said.

The plan voted on Friday would also include more professional development days for teachers at the beginning of the school year for training purposes.

The province is expected to decide early next month on a model for returning to school.