Coronavirus

Dallas School District Defies Governor's Mask Ban

The district will require everyone to wear masks on school properties.

Dallas School District Defies Governor's Mask Ban
Eric Gay / AP
SMS

Texas' second-largest school district is defying the governor's ban on requiring masks in schools. 

Starting today, the Dallas Independent School District says everyone must wear a mask. That's directly against Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on mandates. 

But COVID cases and related hospitalizations have surged across the state. The school district says it wants to protect teachers and students. Especially since health experts are worried about the impact of the delta variant on children. 

"I certainly am hearing from pediatricians that they're concerned that this time the kids who are in the hospital are more numerous and more seriously ill. This is a virus that's not only more contagious, but potentially more lethal," said the National Institutes Of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins.