Teachers’ union calls El Paso ISD mask ruling ‘meaningless’

EL PASO, Texas– Starting Jan. 25, the El Paso Independent School District will require all students and staff to wear masks while on campus. Students and staff have the ability to opt-out. 

District officials said that unless the staff member or the parent of a student opts out, the only people who cannot opt-out or those who tested positive in the past 10 days.

The district is not calling it a mask mandate, but a ruling. 

The new rule will stay in place until February 15.

Incoming superintendent Diana Sayavedra and her staff now have until January 25th to come up with the procedure for parents, students, and staff who opt out of the new rule.

Still, some members like Ross Moore, President of El Paso American Federation of Teachers, said that it’s meaningless and will not stop the spread of COVID. 

Moore said that when you give an order that you can’t or won’t enforce, that undermines your authority in the long run. 

He said it will only create distractions from teaching, calling it a political sideshow. 

He said given the governor's order the best thing to do is to urge people to mask, contact tracing, urge people to get vaccinated and provide vaccinations clinics. 

Moore said that while he supports the wearing of masks, he says doing it in this manner is meaningless. 

“That's going to be as effective as a screen door on a submarine when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID,” said Moore. “There is no real enforcement, and that goes back to the quote, never give an order you can’t or won’t enforce, and right now EPISD, what was voted on and approved last night, is doing both. You can’t enforce it and they won’t enforce it.”