By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s public school district is instituting a partial mask mandate for its students, but only while traveling on a district vehicle.
According to the release provided by the San Felipe Del Rio CISD, which was distributed to the public Wednesday afternoon, all students attending schools in the SFDRICSD will be required to wear a mask while they are riding on a bus or any school vehicle to and from school.
Masks are still not mandated within school buildings or facilities, but the district is encouraging staff and students to wear masks while they are at school. The release explained that Superintendent Dr. Carlos Rios has issued a letter to staff that directed teachers to contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) of their students and ask for permission to enforce a mask mandate. Those students whose parents or guardians consent to the mask mandate would be added to a list that indicated as such.
“I understand that some parents will not want to grant this permission. In these cases, the student will not be mandated to wear a mask and no further action will be taken. However, I trust that the majority of parents will cooperate with our efforts,” Rios is quoted in the release.
According to the release, the school district’s action comes in response to the most recent spike in the number of COVID-19 related cases among school-aged students within the county.
“Most recent figures from the Val Verde County Health Authority indicate that there are currently 33 active COVID-19 cases in the 0-9-year age group and 73 active cases in children between the ages of 10-19,” the release stated.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was diagnosed with COVID earlier this week, earlier this year issued an order banning local mask mandates by entities within the state. Counties, cities and school districts across the state are issuing their own mask mandates despite Abbott’s order. Bexar County and Dallas County were two of the largest entities to make their plans for a mask mandate known, but the Texas Supreme Court Sunday sided with Abbott and temporarily blocked the mandates.
Despite that ruling, many school districts are going ahead with their own mask mandates behind temporary restraining orders issued against Abbott’s order. As of Wednesday morning, 51 school districts, located in or near Austin, El Paso, Dallas, Houston, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley have issued full mask mandates for students and staff.
At Monday’s meeting of the San Felipe Del Rio CISD’s Board of Trustees, one parent spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting and said she was concerned regarding the hazard of COVID in elementary schools.
Cecilia Hernandez said her daughter was in third grade and was concerned that staff at the school was not masked and would her daughter in a close proximity. She said she has practiced social distancing and the use of hand sanitizer with her daughter, but because of her daughter’s age, she is not vaccinated.
“If (the principal and their staff) are going to be around children that are vulnerable, I believe that the judgment should come from them. They should be a model set for their staff to follow, especially if they are going to be around children and exposing them to the virus, which is still very much alive,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said she understood she could withdraw her child from school, but added that she viewed public schooling as a convenience and relied on the school to educate her child where she could not.
“I feel that at this time public school is becoming a hazard. And that fact there is no mandate of masks or social distancing is just becoming a problem … for me. That is just something I would like the board to consider only because our elementary children are the ones that are the most vulnerable right now,” Hernandez said.
