By Phil Helsel - NBC News
A small Texas school district has made masks part of its dress code to circumvent the executive order of the governor, Republican Greg Abbott, prohibiting mask mandates in the state.
The board of the Paris Independent School District, which
has about 4,000 students
, said in a statement Tuesday that the governor's order does not usurp its ability to run schools.
[CDC urges vaccinated individuals to return to wearing a mask indoors in areas with the highest COVID-19 cases]
"The Board believes that the dress code can be used to mitigate communicable health problems and has therefore amended the dress code to protect our students and employees," the district noted.
The measure alleges that "for health reasons, face masks are required for all employees and students to mitigate flu, cold, pandemic and any other communicable disease", it will be reviewed at each monthly administrators meeting and could be changed later, according to The Paris News reported.
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The vote to carry out the measure was 5 votes in favor and 1 and it will take effect on Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended last month that all students in kindergarten through 12th grade wear masks when they return to classrooms, even those who have already been vaccinated. .
[The use of the mask in public transport will remain mandatory until January 2022]
The vote took place on the same day that Abbott's office reported that the governor had tested positive for coronavirus.
Abbott is fully vaccinated, according to his team.
The move of the school district based in the city of Paris, in northeast Texas, comes as some districts of the state are trying to demand masks as COVID-19 infections soar and despite the governor's order.
Masked elementary school students line up to enter school on the first day of school in Richardson, Texas, Tuesday, August 17, 2021.AP Photo / LM Otero
Driven by the most transmissible delta variant, Texas is experiencing a surge in coronavirus infections that has raised alarms.
The state has asked the federal government for five mortuary trailers to store bodies.
Abbott has also asked hospitals to delay some procedures to free up beds for coronavirus patients.
Abbott has fought the mask mandates and issued an executive order to bar local officials from enforcing them.
Some school districts did it anyway.
Abbott's executive order is being challenged in court.
The disability rights group, Disability Rights Texas, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday.
[A 15-year-old Hispanic woman, who was not vaccinated, remains in an induced coma after contracting COVID-19 in Florida]
The organization alleges that some students with disabilities suffer from previous pathologies that expose them to a greater risk of suffering the consequences of COVID-19.
Banning these types of sanitary measures is a barrier to education because those students require face-to-face classes and the spread of the delta variant could derail those plans, they add.
On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court blocked mask rules in Dallas and Bexar counties.
Superior court orders are temporary pending a court hearing.
Abbott has tried to justify its position as protector of the liberties of Texans.
"The way forward is based on personal responsibility, not on government mandates
,
"
argued the governor earlier this month.
Some other Republican governors or US legislatures have also banned or tried to ban mask requirements.