Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to take school districts to court if they implement mask mandates.
The warning came after Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued an emergency order on Wednesday requiring the use of face masks in schools, government facilities, and local businesses in defiance of Abbott’s May 18 order prohibiting government entities from doing so.
Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to Jenkins’s move within five hours, issuing a mandamus petition in the 5th Court of Appeals to strike down his directive.
DESANTIS’ ANTI-MASK MANDATE MET WITH DEFIANCE IN SOUTH FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT
“The judge’s order violates Executive Order GA-38 and state law. GA-38 prohibits governmental entities and officials from mandating face coverings,” state leaders wrote. “It has the force and effect of state law and supersedes local rules and regulations. The Texas Disaster Act clearly states that the Governor has the power to guide the state through emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Any school district, public university, or local government official that decides to defy the order will be taken to court,” they warned.
Before Jenkin’s order, the Dallas Independent School District announced on Monday that all students and staff must wear masks on district property. Administrators cited the county’s “level red” status indicating the significant local spread of COVID-19 in its decision to require masking “temporarily,” beginning Tuesday — a move now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Paxton, who did not call out the district by name, railed against Jenkins, dubbing him an “activist” and “attention-grabbing” legal authority.
“This isn’t the first time we have dealt with activist characters. It’s deja vu all over again,” he said in a statement. “Attention-grabbing judges and mayors have defied executive orders before, when the pandemic first started, and the courts ruled on our side — the law. I’m confident the outcomes to any suits will side with liberty and individual choice, not mandates and government overreach.”
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This mirrors a similar clash in Florida as Broward County Public Schools, the second-largest district in the state, voted 8-1 on Tuesday to continue its mask mandate despite a threat from Gov. Ron DeSantis to withhold funding from institutions.
“I have a moral responsibility to be my brother and sister’s keepers, even if it means that my salary is taken away,” Broward School Board Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood said of the decision. “Even if it means I’m no longer in this seat, my conscience will be at peace because I can sleep at night knowing that I didn’t put parochial self-interest before people.”
