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This story has been continuously updated.
Austin School Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde has announced the county will require face masks and is opposed to Governor Greg Abbott’s orders banning mask mandates amid a wave of COVID-19 hospital admissions from the highly contagious Delta Variant.
Abbott has continued to ban school districts from requiring face-coverings, despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At a special board meeting called Monday night, Elizalde said the district had taken all possible precautions except a mask mandate.
“If I’m wrong, I have to make sure that we were too careful,” she said, “not that we missed out.”
Last week, the region’s public health officials adopted Level 5 protocols reflecting the highest level of coronavirus threat to those at high risk of severe symptoms or death from the virus. Hospital admissions for children under the age of 17 have tripled in the past month. In June, 11 children with COVID-19 were hospitalized. That number more than tripled to 34 in July.
The Austin School District Mask Mandate goes into effect Wednesday, requiring everyone on campus and on the school district’s grounds to wear masks. The first day of school is August 17th.
Businesses defying Abbott’s orders could face fines of $ 1,000, but it’s unclear whether school districts could face multiple fines for violating the order. Abbott’s office did not clarify how the order would be enforced, but did mention possible legal action in a statement Tuesday and promised the governor would work with the Texas attorney general to fight “for the rights and freedoms of all Texans.”
“We all work to protect the children of Texas and the most vulnerable among us, but violating the governor’s orders – and violating the rights of parents – is not the way to go,” press secretary Renae Eze said in a statement. “Governor Abbott made it clear that the time for masked mandates is over; now is the time for personal responsibility.”
Austin joins the Dallas School District to prescribe masks. On Monday, Dallas Superintendent Michael Hinojosa announced that he would need masks. Houston Superintendent Millard House II is expected to seek mask mandate approval from the Houston Schools Board this week.
More:“A Matter of Life and Death”: Austin parents urge school district to request masks
Community support for the mandate
Austin’s Health Authority, Dr. Desmar Walkes told Austin trustees that COVID-19 cases and adolescent hospital admissions rose from June to July. Overall, pediatric COVID-19 admissions in the region have increased from 139 in 2020 to 222 since early 2021, Walkes said.
Masking and social distancing have been shown to be effective and could prevent the already strained health systems from being exhausted, she added.
“We are now facing a new variant, and these are the very things that will protect our younger children in particular, who are not eligible for vaccination at this time,” Walkes told the board. “I support this agency in masking and contact tracing for those cases that have been identified as positive in your school system.”
Parents also said they would support the school district if legal or financial repercussions from the state threatened.
“We will do everything we can to support you if the state takes action against AISD because masking is mandatory in our district,” Dara Chambers, a parent of two elementary school students, told the board.
More:The Austin area could reach ICU capacity, UT researchers say as schools prepare to reopen
Abbott doubled its position on the anti-mask mandate last week, calling on lawmakers to pass laws banning mask mandates during the current special session.
Take action against Abbott’s orders
The Austin School District’s mask requirement comes under pressure from parents. In a back-to-school town hall on August 4, parents attacked Austin County officials for failing to contest the governor’s order against the mask mandate.
Elizalde said district officials had consulted with lawyers and the school districts to weigh the implications of prosecuting legal action.
“There are many different consequences that can ultimately arise for our district,” she said at the time. “And this also means that, according to the new regulations, the education officer also has the authority to take over school districts, which could mean the replacement of all elected officials.”
The Texas Education Commissioner has the power to oust local school administrators and appoint a board of directors if problems arise, but a new law passed in May makes this difficult.
More:Texas schools must instruct students to quarantine because of COVID-19, the state education chief says
Opposition to Abbott’s anti-mask mandate orders has also grown since last week as lawsuits from the Southern Center for Child Advocacy, a nonprofit educational institution, and officials in Dallas County and San Antonio contest Abbott’s orders as harmful and an excess of power, have increased.
In the run-up to the announcement, the Austin school board discussed behind closed doors for several hours. But Elizalde said the choice was clear given the life-threatening risks for the students.
“These decisions are very difficult to make, and yet not difficult when we think about what some of the consequences may be,” she said.
Mask requirement in other districts?
Following the Austin School District announcement, several Texans asked their local school principals to follow suit.
Ben Sterling, president of the Education Round Rock teachers’ union, sent a letter to Round Rock Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez and the school board advocating a mask mandate.
“As the union president, I also represent teachers who have to enter a workplace that remains dangerous despite being vaccinated,” wrote theater teacher Sterling. “Masks are the only thing that could protect you and the students you care for.”
The union represents around 300 teachers. Sterling said they were especially concerned because they were told that if they test positive for COVID-19 they will have to quarantine their vacation.
The Round Rock School District did not immediately respond to questionsTuesday about whether a mask mandate would be considered, but in a tweet, district officials said they “strongly encourage masks”.
Eanes school district officials said they would discuss a mask mandate during a meeting Tuesday night, and Del Valle school authorities plan to discuss COVID-19 logs on Thursday.
Officials in the Leander, Bastrop, Smithville and Lake Travis school districts said they would not change their mask guidelines, which do not require masks, but would refer to the CDC guidelines that recommend masks for the unvaccinated. The vaccine is not yet approved for children under 12 years of age.
Pflugerville School Board President Renae Mitchell said in a statement the district will continue to follow the governor’s orders, but urged parishioners to urge state leaders to control local government and fund virtual learning.
“We urge Governor Abbott to provide more local scrutiny to school districts over mask mandate guidelines,” said Mitchell. “We also ask for the support of our community so that we can work for the health and safety of our students and employees.”
Similar battles for mask mandates are taking place in other states. School districts in Arizona and Florida, also run by Republican governors, have opposed orders banning school masks. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to cut district funding and headmaster salaries. In Arizona, at least one masked district has been sued by a teacher.
In Arkansas, a judge temporarily blocked a ban on masked mandates Friday, and Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson admitted that signing that ban was a “mistake”.
Additional material from the employed authors Rebeccah Macias, Sarah Asch and Andy Sevilla.
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