Riviera ISD will be requiring masks for students and staff in the district.
The superintendent says they updated their mask requirements ahead of thesupreme court ruling Thursday that relaxed mask mandate restrictions for Texas schools.
"I do believe strongly that it's a district decision," says new Riviera ISD superintendent Patricia Thornton. "We know our district better than anyone else."
Thornton made sure to make clear that the policy change is a mask requirement and not a mandate. Parents or students who feel they should not be required to wear a mask can opt-out of the requirement by filling out a form available on the Riviera ISD website.
The district will also help to provide masks.
"We have more than enough masks," says Thornton.
They have been provided hundreds of masks by Kleberg County and the state of Texas.
As of Aug 18, the district's COVID-19 case numbers are at 15 among students and staff since the beginning of school on Aug. 9. Seven of those cases are from the Kaufer Early College High School, 7 are from Nanny Elementary School, and 1 is a teacher for the district. Thorton tells us that as of Friday, none of these cases have resulted in hospitalizations. The district has been posting regular updates on these numbers toits website.
Thornton says that their district nurse is doing her part to encourage and educate people about vaccinations. They held a first-dose vaccination
clinic at the beginning of July, along with the following second-dose vaccination clinic.