Hidalgo on Houston ISD mandating masks: ‘It’s a moment of necessary civil disobedience’

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo supports the Houston Independent School District’s decision to require students and staff to wear masks for the upcoming school year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The mask mandate was proposed by Superintendent Millard House and violates Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting governmental entities from requiring masks, according to Click2Houston.

“It’s a moment of necessary civil disobedience,” Hidalgo wrote in an Aug. 7 Twitter post. “Children's lives are literally at risk.”

Hidalgo said the mask mandate falls in line with "an unspoken commitment" schools have to ensure that the children in their care are protected.

“I can't imagine the State of Texas suing school districts that require masks to keep kids safe,” Hidalgo tweeted. “That would be cynical and tragic.”

Houston Public Media reported that House discussed how the mask mandate may not be favorably received by all during a recent district agenda review meeting.

“We know that people will be angry, some will be happy, we're not going to be able to please everybody,” House said. “But what we have to understand is, if we have an opportunity to save one life, it's what we should be doing.”

The Houston ISD Board of Education unanimously voted in support of the mask mandate on Aug. 12.

In addition to students and staff, Houston Public Media states the mandate also applies to visitors and all individuals inside schools and district facilities, and on buses, regardless of vaccination status.

Houston represents the second district in Texas to go against Abbott’s executive order, according to The Dallas Morning News. Dallas ISD began requiring masks earlier this month.

Both districts cited concerns regarding the delta variant in their decision to enforce masks.