Fort Worth school district to continue mask requirement after Abbott ends COVID mandate
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Reopening Texas
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared that the state will be 100% open come March 10. Here’s what Tarrant County residents need to know.
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The Fort Worth public school district on Wednesday said that it does not intend to rescind its requirement that students use face masks as a measure to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The announcement followed an assessment from the Texas Education Agency that “a public school system’s current practices on masks may continue unchanged.”
The TEA on Wednesday said that school boards have the authority to determine mask policy.
The Fort Worth district requires students to wear face masks while on a school bus and in school facilities.
The Fort Worth and Arlington school districts had said they were waiting for detailed guidance from state government before deciding whether to alter operations after Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that a raft of coronavirus restrictions would be lifted next week.
An Arlington public schools spokeswoman said the district was reviewing the guidance and awaiting a meeting with TEA.
Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos has said that in the interim, the Arlington Independent School District will follow its existing safety protocol for staff and students.
Abbott on Tuesday said that it was time to reopen businesses in Texas and remove the state’s mask mandate effective March 10. He pointed to the state’s “abundance” of personal protective equipment, testing capabilities and antibody therapeutic drugs to treat the virus as reasons why businesses can fully reopen. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley removed the county’s mask mandate effective Tuesday, although the state order continuing until March 10 supersedes county orders.
Texas American Federation of Teachers President Zeph Capo said on Tuesday that Abbott’s altered directive was “callous.”
The “new orders throw our public schools, students, and teachers into chaos, because it leaves open the question of whether masks will be required in all schools,” the union leader wrote in a statement.
“Abbott has shirked his responsibility to stick with medical advice and clarify what needs to happen to keep our schools safe,” Capo wrote.
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth said on Tuesday that it had not issued changes to its COVID-19 safety protocols. “We are assessing the potential impact to campus with public health officials, our medical team of advisors and University leadership,” wrote Kathy Cavins-Tull, the university’s vice chancellor for student affairs.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 6:26 PM.
