Texas Supreme Court Upholds School Mask Mandate Ban

Politico: Texas Supreme Court Backs Governor On Mask Mandates 
The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday sided with Gov. Greg Abbott by issuing temporary stay orders on the subject of mask mandates in public schools. The orders were in cases from Dallas County and Bexar County, where San Antonio is located. Both counties had tried to defy an executive order from Abbott by mandating masks for children in their schools. Other counties in Texas have also attempted to implement mandates in defiance of Abbott. (Cohen, 8/15)

Dallas Morning News: Dallas ISD Will Continue Enforcing Mask Mandate Despite Supreme Court’s Move Against Jenkins’ Order
Dallas ISD will continue to require masks for all students and staff members, despite a decision Sunday by the Texas Supreme Court that temporarily halted Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ public health order requiring masks in public schools and businesses. “Until there’s an official order of the court that applies to the Dallas Independent School District, we will continue to have the mask mandate,” Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said late Sunday. But he said he knows the fight isn’t over: “After a court rules, then I will comply, if it’s not in my favor.” Meanwhile, thousands of other Dallas-area students will return to school this week as confusion runs rampant over whether masks can be required on campus. (Smith, Donaldson and Richman, 8/15)

In other K-12 updates —

AP: S. Carolina School District Back To Virtual Classes
COVID-19 cases have prompted the largest South Carolina school district already back open to return to virtual lessons as students in more than 60 other districts prepared to return to class. Pickens County school officials made the decision at an emergency meeting Friday, after nine days of in-class learning for the system’s15,000-plus students, the Greenville News reported. (8/15)

Fox News: Colorado Deputies Will Be At Schools Due To 'Tensions' Over Mask Mandate
Colorado deputies will be at Eagle County schools Monday in response to growing "tensions in the community" over the school district’s newly-announced coronavirus mask mandate. Local law enforcement will be working closely with Eagle County Schools and community members "to ensure the safety of our children," as students return to class Monday, Amber Barrett, a spokesperson for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a news release. "Our goal is the same as yours, getting our children back to school safely," Barrett said. "Law Enforcement is requesting that persons who are wishing to express their opinions not interfere or interrupt the freedom of movement and the functions of schools." (Aaro, 8/16)

The New York Times: Doubts, Anger And Anxiety: What It’s Like To Go To School Amid Covid-19 
It was supposed to be a new school year, a fresh start with relative normalcy. Instead, it has turned into a politicized, anxiety-provoking experience for many parents, students and educators. This is the third academic year disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. And while there is now broad, bipartisan support for classrooms to be open five days a week, that was based on reassuring evidence from last year that the coronavirus did not spread widely inside schools. The surge in the Delta variant has introduced new uncertainty. (Goldstein and Mzezewa, 8/15)

In updates on mandates and testing at colleges and universities —

Anchorage Daily News: University Of Alaska And Alaska Pacific University Campuses Are Requiring Masks Indoors
Alaska Pacific University and all University of Alaska campuses — including the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast — are requiring face masks indoors. “Because the delta variant spreads easily, it has become clear that we need to return to universal face masking in order to minimize the potential for the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses,” interim UA president Pat Pitney wrote in a July 30 message. Masks will be required at all UAA facilities, including classrooms, enclosed rooms and university vehicles, the university’s mask policy says. (Davenport, 8/15)

KHN: The Newest Disease Detection Tool For Covid And Beyond: Poop 
Since reopening campus at the University of California-San Diego last summer, university officials have relied on the tried-and-true public health strategies of testing and contact tracing. But they have also added a new tool to their arsenal: excrement. That tool alerted researchers to about 85% of cases in dorms before they were diagnosed, according to a soon-to-be published study, said Rob Knight, a professor of pediatrics and computer science and engineering who helped create the campus’s wastewater testing program. (Barry-Jester, 8/16)