Texas schools can issue mask mandates

[struggle4progress]

By Talia Richman and Emily Donaldson
5:57 PM on Nov 10, 2021 CST

Texas’ ban on mask mandates in schools violates the rights of students with disabilities, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, opening up a path for districts to again consider requiring face coverings.

Judge Lee Yeakel’s opinion will have broad implications for Texas’ 5 million school children and more than 1,000 districts, which have been caught in the middle of a highly politicized fight over masks and COVID-19 protections.

Attorney General Ken Paxton is also prohibited from imposing any fines, withholding any educational funds or bringing legal action to enforce Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning such mask mandate in districts, Yeakel ruled ...

“As the court found, Texas is not above federal law, and state officials cannot prevent school districts from providing accommodations to students who are especially vulnerable ...

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/11/10/texas-schools-can-issue-mask-mandates-while-ag-prohibited-from-issuing-fines-a-federal-judge-rules/

[lindysalsagal]

1. 200K+ child cases in the schools

Yeakel cited the number of COVID-19 cases among children, which represented nearly 17% of total cases in the United States as of early November. Texas public schools have reported nearly 212,000 student cases of coronavirus since the beginning of this school year.

“The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs,” Yeakel wrote.

He also wrote that it is Congress’ intent that school district leaders have the ultimate say over how federal coronavirus relief funding is used in ensuring “the safe return to in-person instruction of students within that district.”

Since the start of the school year, several of the districts that initially implemented mask mandates have repealed them or altered them as the number of COVID-19 cases have decreased in the surrounding community and across the state. Others have done so under pressure from Paxton’s office.