Mission, Texas- When Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) students board school buses on the first day of school, August 16, they will be required to wear face masks. Each bus will have a supply of masks to provide to any student who may not have one. The bus mask requirement is following federal orders provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order will not permit Mission CISD to mandate masks in schools, the federal order requiring them for public transportation will apply on our school buses.
“School buses are the most confined spaces our students may find themselves in,” explained Dr. Carol G. Perez, superintendent. “So being able to add this additional safety measure of masks during their times on buses will help control possible exposure during those times. We will continue to strongly encourage everyone entering our facilities to wear a mask and will continue to work with our partners in voicing our concerns about the Governor not allowing mask mandates in schools when the use of masks has been proven effective in helping control the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.”
In addition to the bus mask requirement, each bus is equipped with a hand sanitizer station, students will be assigned seats. Students in the same household will be permitted to sit together. Buses will continue to be cleaned daily, as well as before and after every route. Bus windows will be opened a small amount to allow for better fresh air intake and ventilation. Plus, the air conditioning units on the buses will be equipped with special filters that capture and eliminate 99.99% of COVID-19 viral particles.
“These steps are just part of the multiple layers of protocols we have in place,” said Dr. Perez. “We are committed to doing all we can to make our return to school as safe as possible. We also ask for our parents to help, by screening their children each and every morning for any signs of illness and to keep their children home if they are sick. Virtually everything we do as a school district takes the entire team to be successful, and this will be no different.”
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