A crowd of two dozen parents or so were adamant about removing the district's mask mandates, claiming that the policy hampers their children's ability to learn.
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"It feels as if they are taking advantage of our children because they don't have their own voices. So we are here today because we feel it is really important to give them a voice and to take the masks off. It's creating a lot of upset for many children. Some children are having such a hard time learning, growing, breathing. I have heard stories of people having migraines on a daily basis because the mask is affecting them so much," said parent Erika Taurel.
This comes after parents voiced displeasure over the policy at a board meeting last week, and at the time, parents threatened a walkout.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday night that it's still "risky" for school mask mandates to be lifted.
"We've been to this show before, where things came down, you pull back a little, and it bounces back," Fauci said, adding that even if schools without mandates appear to be fine, "you have to be prepared to re-mitigate again if you see a rebound."
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The Teacher's Union in Houston has said they still want mask requirements, and the CDC says students should still mask up inside classrooms.
HISD superintendent Millard House has said there's a possibility masks will go away, but that'd only happen after spring break if cases continue to trend down in Harris County.
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