Majority of AISD parents sending their kid to school masked, says report

AUSTIN, Texas - Most Austin ISD families who responded to a recent survey said they will be sending their child back to school in a mask. These results were released the same day the Texas Education Agency released updated guidelines reminding districts that they will be unable to mandate mask-wearing.

Austin-Travis County has moved into Stage 5 of its COVID-19 risk-based guidelines just over a week before Austin ISD welcomes back students for the upcoming school year.

"It's worrisome to imagine what the case counts might look like in a couple of weeks once all the kids have gone back to school," said Sharyn Vane, an Austin ISD parent

Vane says she has made the decision to send her children back to school in a mask regardless of recent TEA guidelines making it optional for all students and faculty in any public school district.

"I think anytime we can do something for the good of the community as a whole, we should, which is why, even though my two kids are vaccinated, we want them to wear masks when they go back to school," she said.

According to a survey put out by AISD, 80% of families who responded said they plan to send their child to school in a mask.

On Wednesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services was asked if children should wear masks in school. Despite the Governor’s order stating school districts could not mandate masks, Chief State Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Shuford said yes.

"In general, we do recommend that anyone who's not fully vaccinated wear a mask when they are in a public setting. That's true for any member, any Texan, who's not fully vaccinated especially now that we're dealing with Delta," said Dr. Shuford.

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