Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Newsmax that school mask mandates are ''tragic'' for children.
''What we are doing to our kids is tragic,'' Cloud said Friday on ''The Chris Salcedo Show.'' ''It's almost like sanctuary cities, where we see people turning the blind eye to the law.''
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on schools requiring masks was upheld Thursday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but several districts, including the Dallas Independent School District, announced they would require them anyway, The Dallas Morning News reported.
''Dallas ISD's mask protocol is still in place,'' spokeswoman Robyn Harris told the news outlet. ''The superintendent and administration are looking at the protocol and will reassess sometime this month. Knowing that the omicron variant is a growing concern, we are still going to look at all of the health and safety measures that may need to be in place.''
Cloud said the school districts that are defying Abbott's executive order and are still requiring masks are doing a disservice to the students.
''What we're doing to the kids, especially young kids who are trying to develop verbal skills and communication,'' he said. ''So much is not just what's going on with the words that are coming out of your mouth. It's the interaction. It's a relations skill that needs to develop. We may be dealing with the impact of this for years to come.''
Cloud said more should be done to protect those who may be more vulnerable to the virus than children.
''Let's follow the science,'' Cloud said. ''Let's protect the vulnerable, and we've known from almost very early on, that kids are very, very low risk when it comes to the pandemic. Let's free them. Let's get them back to learning. Let's stop this fearmongering. They're being raised in daily fear, and that's tragic.''
Cloud said that it is going to take everyone, including politicians and parents, to stand up and push back against districts that want to impose mandates and curriculums on students without collaborating with anyone else in the community.
''We all have a role to play with this. We certainly have a job in Washington to do,'' he said. ''There's a role for the state. But you know, just like when we talk about the curriculum that's been thrust upon many of the kids and many of our school districts, and we've seen this in our school boards.
''This takes all of us being involved, and it takes parents standing up and pushing back on this.''
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