Maskless School for Unvaccinated Children: Welcome to Texas!
I am a proud native Texan. I’m the product of Texas schools, from 1st grade in Cypress, TX to UNT and UH. In fact, for the totality of my life and the life of my children, we have been legally compelled by the state to attend a school or we face truancy charges. The law mandates that the state is responsible for ensuring every child in Texas is educated. I like that law – overall, it makes Texans smarter, better people, and fuels the economy so we can enjoy these beautiful skies and all the natural resources Texas has to offer.
Lately, I love my state less and less. I’m a mom. I’ve got a freshman in high school who is fully vaccinated against COVID as of today, and a 10 year old who is too young to be vaccinated. Next week, this kid will go back to school, wearing a mask, but the teachers around her will not be permitted to tell the other children that might be sick to wear a mask to protect her and her peers.
One of my closest friends is an ICU nurse administrator at my local hospital, so I happen to know that we have no COVID beds left in my city and that the Children’s ICU/COVID beds are full and not accepting transfers for trauma. I know that the patients in those beds are getting less care than usual because nurses are taking double their patient load – even patients requiring 1:1 care are getting 1:2 care. School has been out for months here, so the daily exposure to hundreds of children isn’t happening. But next week, it starts.
Despite the new data coming out about the delta variant of COVID and how contagious it is to people who are vaccinated, Governor Abbott has tied our hands behind our back. We give our kids a mask and send them out into the world knowing that, vaccinated or not, the new Delta variant will likely infect them if they are exposed. We sigh with relief that our older, vaccinated children will likely fight this variant off and hold our breath that our younger children do not become seriously ill. We could prevent this infection with smart public health policy, but our Governor needs to win a primary. He has mandated that our school district can not require vaccinations for COVID nor can they require mask-wearing. Not under any circumstances.
Our school cannot offer online learning for the children who are immunocompromised because they don’t have the funding – much of the funding in our wealthy district is taken and given to the rural districts that voted for this school funding system so they can build giant football palaces in the middle of the great plains. Children who can’t risk getting COVID will have to be withdrawn from school, and those parents will have to find some way to care for and educate them while also trying to work. If they do not educate the child, they will face jail time for truancy. Teachers who are high-risk or immunocompromised choose between their health and their career.
Texas moms and dads who are facing this reality right now feel powerless. We are like big mama bears with our hands tied behind our backs and just a snap away from being able to bite the man who has tied our hands up. Those of us that are not part of the vast right-wing conspiracy universe see this for what it is: lunacy. We are a Republic, not a libertarian Wild Wild West. It is my hope that the apathetic, non-voting working people and parents of Texas finally wake up to what is going on in our government and vote these guys out.
I don’t know if Beto O’Rourke can win the race, but I fear he is the only candidate who has the name recognition to do it state-wide. I call on him to risk his political future and run for Governor, knowing full well that another huge loss like this will likely end his political career. I think he cares about Texans and if he can walk back his “I’m going to take your guns” comment, he is the only candidate with the fundraising power to challenge Greg Abbott’s corruption campaign chest filled with millions from big donors.
Complete disregard for the health and safety of children has to be the line, doesn’t it? The line where we don’t sit back and take this political nonsense anymore?
You would think we (teachers) would be unified on this front but we aren’t. I just don’t get it anymore. I go back next week and also get the joy of finding out whether I have colon cancer the same week. Masks are so easy. Shots are so easy. I just don’t get it.
1Wish we could say that the news from Nevada was any better, Jet. Our most recent good news was January 11th when Shelly Adelson died. Unfortunately he didn’t take the other casino moguls and his wife with him.
NV has returned to wearing mask mostly as an individual business decision. No surprise as no one wanted to work and risk dying for slave wages. The other obvious was the “honor system” of if you’re vaccinated, no mask required did not work. The stats say loud and clear: vaccine passports or quarantine. But we’re not “there” yet.
Schools are opening here this month with no clear statewide policy. With the fantastic cooperation of local superintendents, principals and faculties the on-line schooling last year was superb. This year? Thus far our governor has not stood up to the monied interests to the extent needed to protect the schools and children. SMDH The already known long term health consequences of MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children) scares the hell out of us. When revenue takes precedence over lives, hell has taken over …
2Can you get 5 other families who will agree to limit contact they have to the group and hire a teacher? That works for another family I know.
They got the idea from DD who is the director of a preschool in a medical school. That’s what their families do. The teachers wear a see through mask. The 6 kids per room kids do not. The families agree to stay in their pods. Your kids are big enough to wear an N 95 mask.
The Republican primary vote will split between the 2 nut cases and Abbott. Abbott will win. Beto’s position on gun control will be hammered home 24/7. Democrats don’t vote. And the Democrats who run State campaigns in Texas have no clue how to get out the vote. They need to learn from Miss Juanita Jean.
3Nick @1 as we Air Force pilots used to say: “while being shot down sucks, it seems to suck more when being shot down by your own side.” One might think that educated teachers as a group would display more signs of being educated. Then again, consider the medical personnel protesting vaccination requirements after having seen the deaths up close and personal for over a year.
4Both the post by Jet Harris above and the one by Nick Carraway below show where priorities of repugnantican politicians in Texas are- to think of themselves at the cost of everyone else. Just appeal to their base no matter what. Very trumpian. Same goes for desantis in Florida. It is so unfortunate that citizens in both states are going to have to pay the price for their governors selfishness and ignorance, many with their lives. Don’t know how bad things need to get before voters finally flee their party and vote them out, but it’s guaranteed that with schools starting up this month, things can only get much worse.
5I’m glad I live in Washington State.
6If the health and safety of children were a priority in this country, we’d have sensible gun control.
7I’m so sorry for the dilemma you find yourself in, Jet.
And I’m baffled by Abbott’s reasoning. He’s got a primary coming up and he’s busy killing off his voters? Or seeing to it that their children die? Seriously?
I can’t speak too loudly though. I live in Florida. Nuff said.
Hoping you can find a solution to the myriad difficulties you’re facing.
8Another pending disaster is that hospitals in many places are full or becoming full with no room for emergencies whether covid related or not. I saw a story from Arkansas this morning that people being turned away even when seriously ill. Last year in late spring when covid 19 was causing hospitals to be near capacity, a family member that needed hospitalization was sent home from an emergency room because they were prioritizing covid patients. That happened again the following week and his condition became grave. By the time he was finally admitted, he passed away- not of covid. That’s where this is going in states like Texas and Florida (and elsewhere) as schools open without masks and kids pass covid at an accelerated rate.
9All this time I’ve been thinking that Greg Abbott’s doing all this because he’s running against Don Huffines and Allen West, two certifiable loons. He doesn’t want them to get to the right of him for fear of losing the certifiably loony vote.
Lately, I’ve started to question that. Now I’m thinking that Abbott figures he’ll win against Huffines and West and is actually running against Ron Deathantis. They’re both ambitious, and they both think they’re presidential timber. Abbott already lives in fear that Deathantis will call him a RINO in the NSGOP primaries in 2024, so whatever Deathantis does from here on out, Abbott’s reply will be “Hold my beer and watch this.”
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