ODESSA, Texas — Major school districts across the state are defying governor Abbott's executive order and requiring masks in classrooms. That's not the case in West Texas.
As of now both MISD and ECISD are following the governor's no mask mandate, but they are strongly encouraging students and staff to wear one.
NewsWest9 spoke with parents in ECISD to get their reaction to the protocols in school.
"It was a little bit of chaos on the first day, but under the circumstances they are doing the best they can," said Mark Nease, grandparent of ECISD student. "We have had good cooperation from the staff here at the school to get this year started."
Some parents tell NewsWest9 they prefer to continue to send their children with a mask as an extra step of precaution.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri says he remains cautiously optimistic as the school year begins.
"We are monitoring our own local data to see what is happening in our schools every day," said Muri. "We have to be flexible if we see something that we need to do better, or something we can do different. We need to have the agility to adjust."