Neighboring school districts join Fort Worth with mask mandates. Will more follow?
Crowley and Grand Prairie schools will require masks for at least the start of the school year, joining Fort Worth in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates as cases of the COVID-19 delta variant surge.
Crowley schools will require masks for students, faculty and visitors over 2 years old inside school buses and in buildings for the start of the school year, the district announced Wednesday. The mandate will last until Aug. 27, but could be extended every two weeks based on case numbers.
Grand Prairie school district announced face masks will be mandatory for all students and staff in school property starting Thursday.
The school districts’ announcements are the latest challengers against Abbott’s May order preventing public institutions including schools from requiring masks.
Fort Worth Superintendent Kent Scribner announced Tuesday schools will require masks, following similar announcements by Dallas and Austin a day earlier.
Before Scribner’s announcement during Tuesday’s school board meeting, parents and medical professionals asked for a mask mandate during the public comments. They criticized the district’s previous policy, which ”strongly encouraged” mask-wearing.
Scribner said he decided to enforce masks after he received a letter signed by 125 physicians from Cook Children’s Health Care System that highlight the importance of masking and social distancing.
“We are grateful to Dr. Kent Scribner, Fort Worth ISD, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and all leaders who have committed to keeping our children safe,” a Cook Children’s spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
After Scribner’s decision, more than two dozen representatives from area school districts requested Cook Children’s share the letter with them, according to the health care system, which says COVID-19 and RSV patients have pushed the medical center to near capacity.
The letter, along with recent district court rulings temporarily blocking Abbott’s order, convinced Crowley Superintendent Michael McFarland, he said in a video announcement on the district’s website.
“We believe this order will keep students in school, keep our educators at work and keep families from having to stay home with sick or quarantining children,” McFarland said.
Tarrant County reported 846 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, and that patients with COVID occupied 19% of hospital beds in the county.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins signed an executive order Wednesday afternoon requiring masks in schools and businesses, after a district court judge in Dallas issued a temporary restraining order on Abbott’s ban.
Arlington, Birdville, Northwest, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Aledo, Keller and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw and Grapevine-Colleyville school districts will not require masks at this time, district representatives said in response to emails from the Star-Telegram.
Representatives with Carroll, Mansfield and Kennedale did not respond to emails seeking information or comment.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Neighboring school districts join Fort Worth with mask mandates. Will more follow?."
