Students and school staff in Paris, Texas will be required to wear face coverings starting Thursday despite Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to ban mask mandates, following a school board vote in favor of using a loophole to protect public health: the board voted on Tuesday to include mask-wearing in the district's dress code.
Following the 5-1 vote, the Paris Independent School District will amend its dress code to read, "For health reasons, masks are required for all employees and students to mitigate flu, cold, pandemic, and any other communicable diseases."
"The Texas governor does not have the authority to usurp the Board of Trustees' exclusive power and duty to govern and oversee the management of the public schools of the district."
—Paris Independent School District
The board reasoned that Abbott's executive order does not include a suspension of the Texas Education Code, which clearly states that boards of trustees in the state's public school districts govern the schools.
"Therefore the Board has elected to amend its dress code consistent with its statutory authority," said the officials.
At the school board meeting in Paris on Tuesday, medical professionals from the community were among those demanding that masks be included in the dress code to allow the district to comply with guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July, which advised universal masking in public schools.
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Julia Conley.
Julia Conley | Radio Free (2021-08-18T13:52:28+00:00) Finding Loophole in Abbott’s Mask Mandate Ban, Texas School Board Adds Face Coverings to Dress Code. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/08/18/finding-loophole-in-abbotts-mask-mandate-ban-texas-school-board-adds-face-coverings-to-dress-code/
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