'In-person learning is critical': HISD students, staff return to campus

Schools in Houston have outlined their COVID-19 safety game plan for the 2021-2022 academic school year to return to in-person learning at 100%.

The Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) 14-page “Back to School Plan” explained what will happen with masks, social distancing, on-campus activities and visitors to schools.

“We know in-person learning is critical for both student growth and success as well as addressing pandemic-related learning losses,” Superintendent Millard House II wrote in the plan. “Our goal this fall is to make sure those in-person experiences are as safe as possible.”

Masks have been controversial in Texas. There are hundreds of videos of people debating their usefulness in stores. In HISD campuses, buildings or buses, masks are optional for both students and staff for the upcoming academic year.

“The state should give local school boards the authority to require children and those working with them to wear masks,” Mayor Sylvester Turner wrote on Twitter. “In-person learning is critical, and schools should be given all necessary tools to keep everyone safe.”

This decision comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order banning mask mandates and vaccine requirements.

"To further ensure that no governmental entity can mandate masks, the following requirement shall continue to apply: No governmental entity, including a county, city, school district and public health authority, and no governmental official may require any person to wear a face-covering or to mandate that other person wear a covering," the order read.

Abbot wrote the order after the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recommended indoor mask mandates, regardless of vaccination status. The CDC wanted to encourage mask-wearing because the delta variant of coronavirus is spreading. Already, cases are in Texas.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the CDC’s recommendation, Fox News reported.

"The reality is, we’re dealing with a much different strain of this virus than we were even earlier in the spring back in May when the masking guidance was done," Psaki said at her daily press briefing on Fox News.