SUSAN: I can't think ahead to a time when my kids are older. SUSAN: It never crossed my mind that we would go anywhere else, but I can't do that anymore.ĮRNST: So now they're preparing to say goodbye to Texas. SUSAN: I just can't picture a situation in which this doesn't get worse.ĮRNST: Susan and Brian, who both work in education, are looking for jobs in states with stronger civil rights protections for trans people. An injunction currently puts these investigations on hold, but Susan isn't hopeful. Those ultimately failed, which led to the governor's directive months later. ![]() They followed bills in the legislature that sought to criminalize gender-affirming care. SUSAN: My worst fear had come true with no warning and no time buffer or anything.ĮRNST: Fear describes most of the past year for Susan and Brian. That change happened in February when the governor and AG started calling gender-affirming care child abuse. Yeah, it's just kind of crummy.ĮRNST: Only in recent months, conversations about leaving Austin have become plans. On the other hand, if we had to, I know we'd be OK. She isn't old enough for puberty blockers, but Brian and Susan are still worried about getting reported to Child Protective Services, which is why they asked we only use their first names.īRIAN: I don't want to leave. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, I think I like (inaudible) best.ĮRNST: Their daughter has grown out her hair and changed her pronouns. ![]() The dad, Brian, is managing the controller, but it's his kids who are the real brains of the operation.ĮRNST: Brian and his wife Susan are the parents of 5-year-old twins, including a transgender girl who started expressing gender variance at age 2. SARA WILLA ERNST, BYLINE: Mom, dad and the kids are huddled in their TV room in Austin. Houston Public Media's Sara Willa Ernst reports these families don't see a future in Texas. ![]() That's because Texas Governor Greg Abbott called parents who get their kids gender-affirming care child abusers and said they should be investigated. Casanova.Some Texas families with trans kids are leaving or are considering leaving the state. The wait time between Pfizer’s second shot and a booster also was shortened to five months.Ĭlick the video link above to watch our full interview with Dr. Monday, the FDA expanded its emergency use authorization allowing Pfizer boosters for everyone 12 and older. There is growing concern from some experts that while the omicron variant may be milder for adults, it could pose a greater risk to children. So it’s really important we do everything we can do protect those kiddos as well as the teachers and staff at schools, and the most effective way to do that short of vaccines is masking in schools.” “Many of our youngest children have not been vaccinated or are not eligible to be vaccinated depending on the age cutoff. Mark Casanova, a member of the Texas Medical Association’s COVID-19 Task Force. “I think right now is not the time to end mask mandates and for those school districts who let them fall by the wayside, to go ahead and pick them back up,” said Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Dallas ISD superintendent.ĭoctors are advising districts to keep mask mandates in place amid the surge as more kids are hospitalized. But we're not going to do it districtwide and we're not going to do it unless there's overwhelming evidence that that's the only choice we have," said Dr. "We will take this on a school-by-school, case-by-case method and if we have to shut down because it's so bad, we will. They are offering vaccinations at the school.īut others, including Dallas ISD returned to in-person. Lancaster ISD in North Texas decided to move to virtual learning this week, citing the surge in infections driven by the omicron variant and limited hospital beds across the region. AUSTIN, Texas - Texas schools are mixed when it comes to returning to the classroom due to the COVID surge.
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