Texas is not enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive orders banning mask requirements in public schools because of ongoing legal battles in state and federal courts, the Texas Education Agency said Thursday in updated health guidance.
It’s the most clarity that school districts have received in weeks since local officials and school district leaders began challenging Abbott’s orders amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases from the highly contagious delta variant.
“Please note, mask provisions of GA-38 are not being enforced as the result of ongoing litigation,” TEA said in its guidance to school districts updated Thursday. “Further guidance will be made available after the court issues are resolved.”
Abbott’s July 29 executive order, known as GA-38, prohibits mask mandates by cities, counties, school districts and public health officials as part of the governor’s belief that health decisions belong to individuals, not governments, and Texans are free to wear masks if they choose.
This information is no longer being updated. The last data update was on May 23, 2022.
MASK MANDATE BAN IN EFFECT
MASK MANDATE BAN BLOCKED, SUSPENDED, OR NOT BEING ENFORCED
MASK REQUIREMENT IN EFFECT
PREVIOUSLY HAD MASK REQUIREMENT
NOTES
In January 2022, the Missouri attorney general, Eric Schmitt, sued some school districts that required masks, citing a November ruling by a county judge that said local health orders tied to COVID-19 were illegal. (The ruling was interpreted differently by different districts.) The state’s treasurer announced he would also crack down on schools with mask mandates. In mid-March, Schmitt began dropping lawsuits against school districts that no longer required masks. On May 19, 2022 Schmitt announced new lawsuits against several districts that had reinstated mask requirements.
On Feb. 23, 2022, New Hampshire’s governor announced the state was no longer recommending universal indoor masking and therefore schools have to end mask mandates, arguing they violate state education department rules. Soon after, the department advised districts that the mandates “are inconsistent with” their rules. There’s disagreement over whether districts still have the authority to require masks, but at least one district changed its policy in response. A bill that would have banned mask mandates was vetoed by Gov. Sununu in May 2022.
Updated 5/23/2022 | Sources: Local media reports, Education Week reporting | Learn more here
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has fought to preserve Abbott’s ban, arguing that the governor’s emergency powers under a declared disaster give his executive orders the “force and effect” of state law — superseding local rules and regulations.
Abbott’s executive order prohibited local governments from implementing mask mandates and set, citing a provision in the Texas Disaster Act, a $1,000 fine for governments or officials that fail to comply with the edict. The law and the executive order are unclear whether the fine accrues daily or is a one-time penalty.
Facing a surge in COVID-19 infections, several counties and school districts turned to the state District Courts for help, winning temporary restraining orders in Travis, Harris, Dallas and Bexar counties that allowed mask mandates, particularly in schools, where children under 12 are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination.
Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the restraining orders and declare local mask mandates illegal. In its latest action Thursday evening, however, the Supreme Court refused, sending Paxton’s challenge to a lower appellate court while allowing a handful of restraining orders to remain in force, including one that applied to all school districts statewide.
Abbott also has been sued in Austin federal court by 14 children with disabilities and health conditions who say his ban on mask mandates violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by preventing their safe return to school amid a worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Paxton, 50 school districts and eight cities and counties have imposed mask mandates in defiance of Abbott’s order — including the Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Marcos districts in Central Texas.
President Joe Biden has directed the U.S. Education Department to push back against Republican governors like Abbott who have blocked mandatory masks in schools, including taking legal action if warranted.
“Unfortunately, as you’ve seen throughout this pandemic, some politicians are trying to turn public safety measures — that is, children wearing masks in school — into political disputes for their own political gain,” Biden said Wednesday from the White House.
In its updated guidance, the TEA also broadened notification requirements for schools when a positive COVID-19 test is reported.
Consistent with other requirements for communicable diseases and confidentiality, the guidance says, “schools must notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students in a classroom or extracurricular or after-school program cohort if a test-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students, teachers or staff who participated in those classrooms or cohorts.”
Previously, the TEA had said schools only needed to notify people and parents of students considered close contacts. The TEA’s guidance still says parents of students considered close contacts, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can choose to send their kids to school.
