You know, I want to dig into this a bit more.
Let's bring in Dallas County Judge
Clay Jenkins and Sheila Walker,
the president of the National Education
Association, Dallas, Miss Walker.
We just Superintendent Michael,
you know also how he plans
to enforce this rule.
And he told us anyone without
a mass will be asked to leave.
Does that put teachers in a bad spot,
possibly forcing them to
kick students out of class?
Uhm?
Well, according to what we have said at TST,
and that's our state state
affiliation with Dallas ISD.
I mean with any a Dallas.
So we we are agreeing with what
doctor header hoses saying in and
listening to the Pediatrics and the
scientists in making those calls.
We want to do what's best for
our students and our parents
and our staff because we.
Feels safer with the mask on.
It is believed that Doctor Houser has made
a bold decision and a powerful decision,
and so we appreciate that from
NEA Dallas that we will continue
to do what's best and what's
safe for all of our students.
But I guess I want to circle back
to my question, which was does
that put teachers in a bad spot,
possibly forcing them to kick students out
of class? Well, it may be,
but I think what we need to do is
what we had intentionally said at any
ate Dallas that we would encourage
students and parents to put on mass.
He wasn't gonna force them
because it wasn't it wasn't,
you know, mandated,
but we will encourage students to put
on mass because we know that it's safe.
Come now putting students out of class.
I don't. We just have to.
Figure out what's best for everybody,
and I think once the school and
the students see that that we're
doing what's best for them.
I don't think we'll have a problem,
because working in schools I noticed today
I saw a student come in the building.
He did not have his mask on and I said,
you know,
we we are requiring you to put on mask
and I immediately handed him a mask and
he just took the mask and put it on and he,
you know, just you know,
was in his high school that
I'm talking about, so I think.
That we will continue to enforce
these measures as long as we can,
and so we just have to, you know,
figure those things out as we get them and
and and figuring out about need based,
you know,
need you know it's necessary,
but right, I don't think we'll get
a big pushback from parents.
Yeah,
I just do want to
make the distinction, though,
you know, encouraging is one thing,
this is not what dynasty is talking about,
they're talking about requiring masks.
So I do want to make that distinction.
But I also want to bring a judge Jenkins.
Because, you know,
you also instituted a mass requirement
judge and Commissioners court,
which fairly ruffled a few feathers.
Do you think you, in Doctor Hinojosa,
are on solid legal ground?
I do, I think the governor's
orders or unenforceable,
I think the the in this situation the
governor is choosing to not respond to
an emergency like a lifeguard that is
choosing to not save alot but he stopping
everyone else from doing it as well.
The law doesn't give him the authority
to stop an emergency response and I
think we're on strong legal footing.
I think Michael and the host is a great man,
Martin Luther King said that
a great man is 1.
He knows that he was not put
on this earth to be a part of
a process that hurts a child,
and by that definition what D ISD did
today was a great thing led by great man.
I'm so proud of the SD.
If you're on a school board,
if you are a school Superintendent,
I hope you will stand up and follow.
Somebody has to be first so there
are people standing out.
Now join us and let's do it.
Some kind of protect the public health.
I do have to point out,
though, judge, you know,
we teach our children that part of
living in society is obeying rules,
even if they don't agree with those rules.
You know when when Shelly Luther ripped
up your cease and desist order and said
she was going to keep her salon open
because she didn't agree with that rule.
She was very rightly criticised. How is
this any different?
We don't believe Governor
Abbott has an enforceable order.
The law says that, for instance,
the county judge is entitled
to pass certain orders.
The law doesn't give the governor the
ability to tell superintendents how
to run their schools on this issue.
If it did, the governor wouldn't have
it on the call for the special session
is one of the things that he wants the
legislature to give him the power.
To do what he's done is,
he's looked at polls.
He said this is what my donors and
some of my primary voters want to see.
And so that's what I'm going to do,
and I'm hoping that nobody
is going to call me
on it. We're calling him on it.
And one last thing,
before I let you go here.
Or are you going to then encourage other
school districts in Dallas County?
Richardson ISD Carrollton
Farmers Branch to also make it
a requirement to wear a mask.
That they'll do that look when we
follow the science in a pandemic.
We do well, as we've seen,
and when we don't do that and
we and we just do whatever is
politically expedient at the moment
we do poorly and I hope you know,
I hope the governor has seen that
and is seeing it happen again now.
And look, it's not too late
for us all to come together.
The governor is not the enemy.
Nobody is the enemy except for that virus.
We need to come together.
Science needs to lead the way we need
to listen to our doctors and more
and more people need to step up.
And say I'm going to do what's
right to protect my school,
my business, my hospital, my family,
all right, George Jenkins,
Miss Walker. Thank you very much for your
time and and putting all that in context.