Parent Rips Off Teacher's Mask At Back-To-School Event In Texas

The debate about children wearing masks in schools has become so heated that an Austin-area teacher was physically assaulted.

Tom Leonard, the superintendent of Eanes Independent School District, sent a letter to parents and staff members reminding everyone to be respectful after two incidents on Tuesday, August 17.

"A parent physically assaulted a teacher by ripping a mask off her face, others yelling at a teacher to take off her mask because they could not understand what the teacher was saying while her face was covered. This type of behavior will not be tolerated in Eanes ISD. Our staff are on the front lines of this pandemic; let’s give them some space and grace," he wrote.

The incidents happened at a "Meet the Teacher" event the district hold before the first day," KEYE reported.

Leonard didn't identify the parents or teachers involved but said the teachers were doing OK "because they’re resilient." The district will talk to the parents directly about their actions.

“If we have to go down some legal paths, we’ll go down some legal paths,” said Leonard.

On Saturday, the district decided to require masks for students and staffers on campus. However, Leonard wrote in his letter that teachers would be not used as "mask police."

"If adults choose to disagree and fight among themselves ... please take it outside, off our campuses and out of our schools," he wrote.