The Edinburg school district is now suing Gov. Greg Abbott over his mask mandate.

An emergency board meeting held Thursday to consider suing Gov. Greg Abbott ended with unanimous agreement among Edinburg CISD trustees to impose a local mask mandate within ECISD buildings, joining an ever-growing amount of school districts looking to create their own guidance in defiance of Abbott’s previously-set ban on mask-wearing.

After a total of three individuals ultimately speaking in favor of safety precautions in light of the continually-growing Delta variant, a motion was made to approve an item that would pave the way for the board to create a mask mandate. 

School resource officers will have the ability to deny entrance or remove people who are not in compliance.

“In these uncertain times I want to take every precaution available to us,”  Edinburg School Board President Mike Farias said in a statement, “And I’d rather err on the side of caution than on the side of negligence. I am for mandating masks temporarily until the numbers go down.”

Edinburg CISD’s first day of school is Monday, August 16th.

The resolution also requires anyone on school property to abide by the CDC guidance on social distancing and will provide hand sanitizing stations throughout the buildings. Temperature checks will also be implemented.

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