Houston ISD announced the district will implement a mask mandate for the 2021-2022 school year. According to HISD Superintendent Millard House II, the board will support mandating masks at the beginning of the school year. House voiced his concerns about students wearing masks as the number of COVID-19 cases rises due to the delta variant.

The Houston Independent School District is also looking to expand virtual learning ahead of the upcoming school year, Superintendent Millard House II said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday’s Houston Matters, House said the district's usual 8,000 slots were already filled, but it was working on adding 1,500 to 2,000 more slots.

But he added that the district's main focus would be bringing students back into schools as safely as possible.

“The best place for a child to be is in front of a highly qualified teacher,” he said.

The district partners with Texas Connections Academy Houston, an approved HISD campus charter, to offer free public virtual school for grades 3-12, according to the academy’s website.

House also touched on the district’s proposed mask mandate, which he announced last week. The proposal is at odds with an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott that banned schools from implementing such mandates.

House said hoped the mandate would need to be implemented for very long, and that he was confident it would pass at Thursday's Board of Education meeting.

“This is not about defying the governor, this is about really doing what’s best in terms of the public safety,” House said. “I had to step forward and do what was best, and I’m strongly convinced that my board will acquiesce and move forward to get this done.”

House added that within 48 hours of the announcement, the school district suffered a death due to COVID-19.

House also said that the district was not looking to implement a vaccine mandate, but was considering a vaccination incentive program. He pointed to the city’s Super Saturday vaccination events, where House said students and staff could easily get vaccinated.

The superintendent acknowledged that the pandemic has caused “residual issues” for the district, such as learning loss and a sharp decrease in student enrollment — dropping from about 210,000 to 196,000 students throughout the district. The next three years will be focused on fixing these issues, he said.

“Many of our kids have missed out on educational opportunities that have put them behind,” House said. “I’m extremely excited about the next 60 days…to ensure that we’re setting the stage for the years ahead to be extremely successful.”

Hany Khalil, vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, joined Tuesday’s Town Square to discuss the upcoming school year. Khalil said the union fully supported House’s mask proposal.

“School leaders have recognized that their first and foremost duty is to keep children safe,” he said. “As employers, it’s to keep employees safe in their school districts as well.”

Last week, unions representing tens of thousands of teachers and support staff from across the Gulf Coast issued a joint letter to area school district trustees and superintendents calling on them to follow public health guidance and immediately issue mandates to keep our schools safe.

More districts are expected to follow suit as the beginning of their school years near, but as of Tuesday, here’s a look at the districts that will require students and staff to mask up this fall (or are in the process of doing so) as COVID-19 rages through the state again.

Austin ISD – The Austin ISD Board of Trustees made the decision Monday night for a mask mandate that begins Wednesday. Classes start August 17.

Dallas ISD – Dallas ISD was the first district is Texas to officially require masks in its schools when they made its mandate effective Tuesday. DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said the mandate is temporary. Hinojosa says he’s still working with his team on what consequences people who don’t mask up will face

Fort Worth ISD – The school board announced Tuesday it will require masks at indoor school facilities and buses effective immediately.

Houston ISD – The board of the largest school district in Texas will vote on a mask mandate Thursday. HISD Superintendent Millard House II told trustees he expects pushback from both the public and the state government on his proposed mask mandate.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD – At a school board meeting Monday, district leaders in the Rio Grande Valley unanimously passed a resolution to ask Abbott to allow local control to make decisions regarding COVID-19 protocols. One of the things the district requested was the ability to make its own mask mandate.

San Antonio ISD – The school district will require masks for students and employees, starting Wednesday, the SAISD superintendent announced in a letter to families. A state district judge granted the City of San Antonio and Bexar County the authority to issue a mask mandate Tuesday.

Socorro ISD – The El Paso school district is set to vote on a mask mandate at 6 p.m. Tuesday.