Private religious schools in Texas are free to decide whether they want to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said in an open letter Friday that local governments in the state do not possess the authority to keep religious private schools from following state health guidelines if they wish to reopen their doors.
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“Under the Governor’s orders, local governments are prohibited from closing religious institutions or dictating mitigation strategies to those institutions,” Paxton wrote. “Local governments are similarly prohibited from issuing blanket orders closing religious private schools. Because a local order closing a religious private school or institution is inconsistent with the Governor’s order, any local order is invalid to the extent it purports to do so.”
Texas health officials are grappling with a spike in coronavirus cases. In Dallas County, for example, an order was issued stating that all private and public schools cannot conduct in-person classes until after Sept. 7.
More than 10,000 cases were reported for a third day in a row in the Lone Star State on Thursday.
The reopening of schools has become a heated political battle in the past month as Republicans, including President Trump, have encouraged reopening while many in the Democratic Party warn the risk is too high to bring children fully back into physical locations.
Paxton said attempts to keep religious schools from reopening are a violation of both the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution.
“Moreover, local public health orders attempting to restrict the provision of religious instruction through religious private schools violate the United States and Texas Constitutions and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” he added.
