Fort Worth schools OK mask mandate, but legal battle prevents implementation for now
The Fort Worth school district board approved a resolution during a Thursday special meeting authorizing the superintendent to implement a mask mandate if a current temporary restraining order is removed.
The board approved the resolution with eight members voting “yes” and one abstention.
During a board meeting on Aug. 10, Superintendent Kent Scribner implemented a mask mandate for all students and employees, defying a Gov. Greg Abbott executive order banning mandates.
Three days later, a district judge granted a temporary restraining order sought by four Fort Worth parents to block Scribner’s mask mandate.
Because the district is currently under the restraining order, issuing a mask mandate isn’t possible.
Early Thursday, the judge extended the restraining order until Sept. 3, when a hearing will resume for more testimony.
If there’s a decision from the judge that would free the district from the temporary restraining order, then the mandate would be implemented.
“The Board has instructed me to implement a mask mandate, if, when, and to the extent that doing so does not violate the court order,” said Scribner said during the Thursday meeting. “As soon as we are able to implement a mask mandate, we will do so.”
The resolution would require all staff, students and visitors to wear masks inside all district facilities.
Thursday’s vote came after weeks of contentious board meetings and protests where hundreds of residents have spoken out for or against a mask requirement.
The public comment section of the Thursday meeting included more than 80 written letters to the board, plus dozens of in-person speakers. Many urged for a mask requirement in order to protect kids who are not eligible to be vaccinated. Other speakers said mandating masks is unnecessary and oppressive.
Fort Worth resident Joe Palmer said the district should stop wasting money on the La Joya ISD lawsuit against Abbott’s order and said the district should follow state orders.
“You haven’t fully explored, I don’t think, all of the tools that the [Texas] Legislature has to use against you if you do things that are out of line with what they want,” he said.
Fort Worth resident Courtney Wait said the board should avoid the path of least resistance and vote for a mandate because requiring masks is the right thing to do.
“You have power, use it,” she said. “In the legacy of our nation’s great civil rights leaders, it’s time to make some good trouble. Put yourself on the line for our kids.”
During the first week of school more than 1,000 district students, teachers and support staff were placed in quarantine after testing positive or being exposed to COVID-19.
As of Thursday, more than 2,500 cases of on-campus close contact to COVID-19 were reported and more than 500 students have tested positive for the virus. Classes began Aug. 16.
“We cannot get to the point of having to shut down our schools,” board member CJ Evans said. “We cannot lose ground academically this year with our kids.”
The board’s next scheduled meeting is a board workshop on Sept. 14.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 10:31 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify that the mask mandate has not immediately gone into effect.
