Texas Education Agency (TEA) in charge of overseeing both primary and secondary public education, expressed its disagreement on Thursday with the executive order to ban the use of masks signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
The TEA updated its public health guidance Aug. 19 to state it will not enforce the governor’s order ‘as the result of ongoing litigation.’
In Florida, where Delta variant infections are on the rise, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho also challenged Gov. Ron DeSantis’s ban on requiring masks in schools.
President Joe Biden asked Republican governors like Abbott and DeSantis to ‘get out of the way’ with schools and businesses determined to implement measures against Covid-19.
‘Unfortunately, as you’ve seen throughout this pandemic, some politicians are trying to turn public safety measures — that is, children wearing masks in school — into political disputes for their own political gain,’ Mr. Biden said in remarks from the East Room of the White House, adding, ‘We are not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children.’
The Education Department would use its broad powers — including taking possible legal action — to deter states from barring universal masking in classrooms.
As demands decline, health scenario in the United States is currently at comparable levels to peaks reported between June and September 2020.
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