BEAUMONT, Texas — A recent decision from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has led to many discussions across Southeast Texas school districts.
12News has been following the mixed reactions from parents and the alarm bell is ringing for one of the state's top teachers' advocate group.
The Texas Education Agency issued new guidance for schools Wednesday saying "a public school system's current practices on masks may continue unchanged. But local school boards have full authority to determine their local mask policy."
What has become a common sight at schools across the state soon could be changing. New guidance from the TEA will now allow districts to decide whether keep their mask mandate in place, after Gov. Abbott rescinded the statewide order, causing concern for Port Neches-Grove parent, April McBride.
"PNG doesn't allow virtual so that why it's been hard for me mentally all school year, with the mask mandate in place, and now for it to be a possibility that they have to wear it is a little upsetting," McBride said.
Port Neches-Groves ISD is among the many districts planning to make a determination about their COVID-19 protocols following new guidance from the tea.
"A key component to opening up is making sure that our school will be open so that our students can return to school and return to school safely," Abbott said.
On Wednesday, the state's health department announced plans to prioritize educators in its vaccine plans. While the news has been celebrated by many, one of the state's top teacher unions is calling on more to be done to protect educators.
"We have to have masks in our school buildings. We have to we don't have the majority of our population vaccinated. We we're glad that we're getting more vaccines in. But the reality is that even if the adult population gets fully vaccinated, we're still going to be in classrooms with students that do not meet the criteria for vaccination," Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association.
With COVID-19 still a lingering threat, McBride hopes that others understand the importance of masking up.
"If I have a mask on and I have two people around me that don't have a mask on I still can catch COVID and then have a chance to bring it to someone else,” McBride said.
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