Texas disability group files federal lawsuit against Gov. Abbott over mask mandate ban
A Texas organization that advocates on behalf of people with disabilities on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that attempts an untested approach on the federal legal entanglements exposed in the clash between local government and Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates.
Fourteen child plaintiffs with a range of medical conditions argue in the lawsuit, in which Abbott and Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath are defendants, that the governor’s order prohibiting local government-issued mask requirements violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The organization, Disability Rights Texas, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
“If school districts are unable to implement COVID-19 protocol as they each deem appropriate, parents of medically vulnerable students will have to decide whether to keep their children at home or risk placing them in an environment that presents a serious risk to their health and safety,” the organization’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
The Abbott executive order and TEA guidance unlawfully prevent school districts from providing students with disabilities access to a public school education, the plaintiffs argue. The executive order places students with disabilities at significant risk and is discriminatory, they argue.
Other lawsuits have focused on resolving the authority conflict in state law between the governor and local governments.
The lawsuit requests a temporary restraining order that would allow school districts and local public health authorities to require masks. It was not clear when U.S. District Judge Judge Lee Yeakel will schedule a hearing on such an order.
The plaintiffs are identified in the lawsuit by their initials.
Among them is an 11-year-old girl in the Keller Independent School District with Down syndrome.
“Because [Abbott and Morath] are preventing Tarrant County public schools from requiring masks for their students and staff — despite the surging number of infections, positivity rates, and hospitalizations due to the hyper-contagious Delta variant — it is simply too dangerous to R.S.’s health and safety for her to return to school without the protections deemed necessary by local and national authorities, which includes universal masking for all persons at K12 schools,” the lawsuit argues.
The Fort Worth Independent School District board on Tuesday decided to join a La Joya school district lawsuit against Abbott.
The lawsuit, filed last week, argues that the executive order cannot limit the district’s rights as an employer and educational institution to establish necessary safety measures.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
