Arlington school district considers lawsuit against Governor Abbott over mask mandate ban
The Arlington school district may sue Gov. Greg Abbott over his executive order banning mask mandates and other COVID protocol.
“We are advocating to put the decision to mandate masks back into the hands of our district,” said school board Kecia Mays in a news release. “We are in a community with a high rate of COVID-19. The positivity rate is over 22%. No ICU beds are available for pediatric patients. We have to implement every mitigation effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, and one of the tools we have — the mask — has been taken away as an option to mandate.”
Board members will review the lawsuit during their board meeting Thursday, along with a possible plan for virtual learning for students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
The board called and then canceled an emergency meeting Friday, during which they were scheduled to take up COVID-19 protocols. Board members unanimously approved protocols Aug. 5 that did not require masking or contact tracing, but allowed students excused absences if they tested positive or needed to quarantine.
A handful of north Texas school districts have defied Abbott’s order and imposed a mask mandate, including Fort Worth, Crowley, Everman and Grand Prairie. The city of Denton joined Dallas County on Thursday in requiring masks indoors. The challenges come days after a district judge granted restraining orders against Abbott’s mask mandate ban in Dallas and Bexar counties.
Fort Worth became the first Tarrant-area school district to defy Abbott’s order on Tuesday. Superintendent Ken Scribner said he made the decision after he received a letter from 125 physicians with Cook Children’s Health Care System that highlighted the importance of masking and social distancing.
Representatives from Cook Children’s said Wednesday that more than two dozen officials from area school districts requested copies of the letter, which states that COVID and RSV patients have pushed the medical center to near capacity.
Tarrant County reported 956 new COVID cases Friday.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 3:25 PM.
