Difficult choices accompanied the reopening of public schools amid the pandemic. Local public health authorities ensure that during moments of epidemiological crisis, science, not politics, drives decision making.
Texas law gives local health authorities the power to determine whether conditions are unsafe for the members of their communities, including public school students. A local health authority is a licensed physician appointed by local elected officials who takes an oath to administer state and local laws relating to public health within the local jurisdiction. This protocol of accountability ensures that public health, not short-term political expediency, takes priority. As part of the protocol, local health authorities work with locally elected school board trustees to keep kids, teachers, and communities safe.
This medical and legal precedent is breaking down as Texas politicians turn their focus away from the pandemic and toward the 2022 elections. Recently,…
