Although local school boards have been discussing mask mandate plans for weeks, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced May 13 fully vaccinated Americans can forego face coverings outdoors and indoors.
See what local districts from Magnolia ISD to Clear Creek ISD have been discussing for the upcoming 2021-22 school year as the end of the 2020-21 school year approaches.
Clear Creek ISD
Clear Creek ISD changing education in response to COVID-19
Pending state funding from the Texas Legislature, CCISD plans to launch Clear Connections Virtual School for all grade levels at the start of the 2021-22 school year.
Today, students can migrate between Clear Connections and in-person instruction every few weeks. As time goes on, more students are opting for in-person instruction.
Cy-Fair ISD
Cy-Fair ISD proposes virtual learning program for 2021-22 pending legislative approval
Students living in the district’s boundaries who are entering grades 4-12 in 2021-22 could have the opportunity to attend Cy-Fair ISD Virtual School in the coming school year, Chief Academic Officer Linda Macias said at the May 10 board meeting.
Fort Bend ISD
Fort Bend ISD will continue to require masks in 2021-22 school year
Students and staff at Fort Bend ISD will be required to wear masks when moving about indoors in crowded spaces and when unable to socially distance from others during the 2021-2022 school year, district officials announced May 10.
Several changes to protocols will go into effect June 7. These include discontinuing the current process of wellness and recess monitors and changing the social distancing requirements from 6 feet to 3 feet.
Friendswood ISD
Friendswood ISD eliminates virtual schooling, lifts mask mandate starting June 1
Friendswood ISD will soon enact changes to current protocols and operations that move the district closer to pre-pandemic life—including an end to the face mask mandate and the elimination of a virtual schooling option.
Humble ISD
Humble ISD trustees amend mask policy, to reconsider mandate at May meeting
Humble ISD has updated its mask policy to allow more flexibility during outdoor activities and to add more clarification on student groups exempt from the mandate.
The district's mask policy requires students, staff and campus visitors to cover their faces on campuses and district facilities and at district events when it is not feasible to maintain 6 feet of distance. However, it allows masks to be optional for specific age groups and activities.
Katy ISD
Katy ISD to return to standard operations in June
As of June 1, Katy ISD students and staff will no longer be requiring face masks or offering virtual school, Superintendent Ken Gregorski said in an email on April 16.
The move aligns with the expiration of the TEA guidance, Gregorski said.
Klein ISD
Klein Virtual Academy expanded to include third grade
Klein ISD's new tuition-free, online school, Klein Virtual Academy, has been expanded to include students in third grade in addition to students in grades 4-12, district officials announced in a news release April 30.
As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the KVA is slated to open for the 2021-22 school year, pending full funding from the Texas Legislature, and will replace the district's current remote learning program, Klein Online.
Magnolia ISD
Mask mandate lifted in Magnolia ISD, effective April 1
Magnolia ISD trustees voted unanimously March 8 to adopt a resolution lifting the district’s mask order April 1.
“We have followed the governor’s orders throughout this school year ... and we are now in a position where the governor’s making a mask a personal choice. The Texas Education Agency responded to that by requiring schools to continue with masks, but they gave school boards the local authority to make that optional,” Board President Gary Blizzard said during the March 8 meeting.
Spring ISD
Spring ISD to open full-time virtual academy in 2021-22 school year pending state funding, local interest
Spring ISD may open a full-time virtual academy for students in third to 12th grades for the 2021-22 school year. However, the decision will hinge upon state funding and interest from SISD families, according to an April 23 news release.
Tomball ISD
Tomball ISD plans for 'mask optional' 2021-22 school year
Tomball ISD officials announced in a social media post April 14 the district is planning for a "mask optional" 2021-22 school year. While the district's mask mandate is currently still in effect, the statement notes masks will be optional in TISD for all students and staff effective at the end of the last day of school, May 27.
Jake Magee, Colleen Ferguson, Laura Aebi, Danica Lloyd, Anna Lotz, Hannah Zedaker, Morgan Theophil and Kelly Schafler contributed to this report.
