Texas parent assaults teacher over mask, school official says: 'Do not fight mask wars in our schools'

A Texas school superintendent is warning parents not to "fight mask wars in our schools" after he said a teacher had her face mask ripped off and another was berated by a parent over the district’s coronavirus mask mandate.

Tom Leonard, superintendent of Eanes Independent School District in Greater Austin, sent a letter to parents and staff Tuesday alleging bad behavior by parents after the district decided to follow the current Travis County mask mandate, which defies an order prohibiting such mandates by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

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"A parent physically assaulted a teacher by ripping a mask off her face, others yelling at a teacher to take off her mask because they could not understand what the teacher was saying while her face was covered," Leonard explained in his letter, which was published in full by local ABC affiliate KVUE.

"This type of behavior will not be tolerated in Eanes ISD," he continued. "Our staff are on the front lines of this pandemic; let’s give them some space and grace. Please, I am asking everyone to be kind...do not fight mask wars in our schools."

Leonard explained that while masks are mandated, schools have "no legal methods" to enforce the mandate and staff will not act as the "mask police."

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"We are all in this pandemic together," he wrote. "If adults choose to disagree and fight among themselves (as my mother often advised my brother and me when we fought) please take it outside, off our campuses and out of our schools. I am asking as kindly as I can: please treat each other the way you would like to be treated."

Leonard did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

The news comes as the national debate heats up on masks while school children return to in-person learning following the summer break. In Florida, the board of education voted Tuesday to sanction two public school districts for defying Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' order banning mask mandates in schools.

August 19, 2021 at 04:31AM
Jessica Chasmar
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