Plano ISD holds emergency board meeting on Gov. Abbott’s mask mandate ban

Plano ISD trustees hold an emergency board meeting to discuss Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order banning school districts from prescribing masks.

Several counties – including Dallas ISD – are defying Abbott’s order and demanding masks at school as a surge in COVID-19 cases coincides with the start of the new school year. It’s unclear whether Plano trustees will take action against masks on Monday.

So far, PISD officials have stayed out of the litigation. They sent a message to families on August 12, saying that they strongly recommend the use of face coverings.

“However, due to the ever changing landscape of the governor, county, and courts on this issue, the board intends to comply with the law,” they wrote. “Currently, the district lawyer is closely monitoring the implications of what is happening in Dallas County and across the state to advise the district on this rapidly evolving situation.”

About 90 parents and community members testified during Plano’s emergency meeting before the trustees went into the closed session.

Even before the meeting began, tensions were high. Mask mandate supporters stood to one side of the building begging families to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend universal masking in schools. They said there was a need to protect all children, especially those who are too young to receive the vaccine.

“Protect our children until they can be vaccinated,” said Julie Jennings, mother of an immunocompromised 5-year-old and a 9-year-old.

On the other hand, the parents shouted, “What do we want? Wahl ”and called that families should be able to make their own decisions about whether children wear masks in school.

Meghan Vecchio said her two sons were unhappy last year when they had to wear masks every day.

One of her children “cried every Sunday night before returning to school,” she said, urging the board of directors not to defy Abbott and leave the choice to their parents.

One man mocked those who were pro-masks and mocked them for not standing two meters apart in the open air. Others said they couldn’t hear their points under one mask, while another jokingly suggested that a woman wear three masks. Those who wanted a mask mandate were called “sheep”.

When Rev. Kayla Coffee prose watched the meeting, she was surprised by “the different worlds we inhabit”. Speakers on both sides of the topic held up data they argued would support.

“We’re divided,” said Coffee-Prose, “we’re just so divided.”

She said her community must also decide what to do with mask mandates. She knows that not everyone agrees that they should be asked. But her 10-year-old daughter cannot get vaccinated yet and has to go to school.

“Public health action requires that we all work together. This is more than personal responsibility or individual choice, ”said Coffee-Prose. “We are all part of the same community. We are responsible for one another. We have to put the good of the community first, and in this case that means wearing a mask. “

Still, Dawn Smith, the mother of a Plano high school student, said it was important to respect families’ freedom of choice.

“It’s beyond a mask mandate,” she said. “It’s about: it’s our children and we have to decide what’s best for them.

School authorities across Texas are at the center of a fierce and highly politicized battle for mask mandates. Attorney General Ken Paxton has promised to sue school districts that continue with masking requirements.

Also on Monday parents in Southlake Carroll ISD plan to protest against masks. The Coppell ISD trustees are also expected to discuss the governor’s executive order.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is in litigation with the state over his decision to impose a local mask mandate for businesses and schools. Though the Texas Supreme Court temporarily curtailed its order, Jenkins amended it to remove corporate penalties.

Collin County Judge Chris Hill said he had no intention of making an order requiring masks.

A Travis County judge issued a separate order temporarily preventing Abbott from banning masking requirements in public schools, which some counties use as the legal basis for further enforcing their own masking requirement. The Texas Supreme Court kept it for the time being.

Meanwhile, Disability Rights Texas has escalated the lawsuit and filed a federal lawsuit against Abbott alleging that its order unfairly harms children with disabilities.

The Texas Education Agency’s latest school health policy advises that the mask ban is not being enforced due to an ongoing legal battle.

Jenna Royal, an attorney who represents families suing the governor’s mandate, said Abbott’s hands were “no longer tied” because of the recent legal proceedings.

The Plano school district had registered more than 200 COVID-19 cases among students and employees as of Friday. The first day of school was August 11th.

More than 50,000 students enrolled in the Plano schools last year.

The DMN Education Lab deepens reporting and discussion on pressing educational issues that are critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control over the Education Lab’s journalism.

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