Big school districts across the state are now challenging Governor Greg Abbott's executive order that prohibits mask mandates in schools.
Suits are now on file in Dallas, Travis and Bexar Counties as County Judges say they will openly defy the Governor, at least until the courts settle the matter. In particular, the counties are taking aim at the Governor’s threat to cut off funding for any school district that imposes a mask mandate in defiance of the order.
Corralling the suits is bound to be a challenge as each suit is in a different area of the state.
Consolidation is eventually expected.
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“The cases are all going to start out in different courts, and it may be a difference between a district court and a county court depending on which county and what governmental jurisdiction it is that’s filing the lawsuit to challenge the mask mandate ban,” said Ed Klein, an attorney who acts as legal analyst for KRLD News. “Ultimately, they could wind up getting consolidated. Certainly when they get to the appellate stage and they are ready to be submitted to the Texas Supreme Court, if it gets that far, they’ll all be consolidated.”
The Dallas County case has already taken a unique twist as County Judge Clay Jenkins, who is being sued by a county commissioner, is using the same case to file his suit against the Governor. Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch was thrown from the Commissioner’s Court after he refused to wear a mask during a meeting. Koch was escorted to an office where he participated online.
Koch claims the decision by Jenkins was a “unilateral creation and enforcement of an imprecise face covering rule [.]”
In his countersuit, Jenkins seeks “A temporary restraining order to restrain the Defendants from enforcing (the portion of the state code) that suspend the authority of Texas school districts granted by the Education Code and restore the status quo.”
There is no hint the Governor is willing to buckle, although Klein sees that as a possible way out of messy and sprawling litigation.
“If he says, ‘Well, okay, maybe the science is such that we really need to take another look at this and I’ll lift the mask mandate ban,’ then those lawsuits would be, technically, moot.” Klein said.
No hearings have been scheduled.
UPDATE: The office of Governor Greg Abbott has provided KRLD with the following statement:
“The assertion that the Governor of the State of Texas doesn’t have the authority to protect the rights and freedoms of Texans is just plain misguided. Under Chapter 418, the Governor has full authority to issue executive orders that have the full force and effect of law in response to a disaster. This health disaster has continued to change, and so should our response. Texans have learned and mastered over the past year the safe practices to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID, and do not need the government to tell them how to do so.
Removing government mandates, however, does not end personal responsibility or the importance of caring for family members, friends, and your community. Vaccines are the most effective defense against contracting COVID and becoming seriously ill, and we continue to urge all eligible Texans to get the vaccine. The COVID vaccine will always remain voluntary and never forced in Texas.”
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