Fort Worth parents seek second injunction against mask mandate in school district
The four parents of Fort Worth ISD students who are suing the school district to try to prevent enforcement of a mask requirement have filed a new motion with the Second Court of Appeals.
The new motion asking the appeals court for an injunction was still pending one day before the school district is set to implement a mask requirement inside all district buildings on Monday. Superintendent Kent P. Scribner was given direction by the Fort Worth Board of Education to implement the requirement to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as soon as he was legally able to do so.
The appeals court rejected a similar motion from the parents on Thursday.
According to court documents obtained by the Star-Telegram, the parents in the case argue that any mask mandate goes against Gov. Greg Abbott’s GA-38 executive order, which says no government entity can require masks, including school districts.
Fort Worth ISD along with other Texas school districts are in litigation with Abbott over whether the order oversteps his authority. Until the courts decide whether or not he has, Fort Worth ISD has been following direction by the Texas Education Agency which says the mask provisions in GA-38 are not being enforced.
On Sept. 3, Tarrant County District Judge John Chupp granted a temporary injunction to the parents.
But attorneys representing the school district filed an appeal with the Second Court of Appeals and as a result, the temporary injunction is paused and not enforceable against the district until further notice, according to school officials.
In a response filed with the appeals court in opposition to the second injunction request, the district said it has allowed for “medical exceptions” to the facemask requirement but the four parents involved in the legal battle have not asked school officials for such an exemption. The district also argued that if the court were to grant an injunction stopping the mask requirement, it should only apply to the children of the parents involved in the case and not to all students.
The parents in the case say a mask requirement would damage their children’s “mental and physical health,” according to court documents.
In one of their motions filed with the appeals court, the parents also claimed that some teachers have been “using their classroom authority to berate, belittle, and intimidate children who refused to kowtow to militant pro-mask teachers.”
Court records show the appeals court had not ruled on the motion as of Sunday, meaning the school district’s mask mandate remains in effect on Monday.
The policy requires all staff, parents, students and visitors to wear face masks to protect against COVID-19 at all Fort Worth school district indoor facilities, unless they have a medical exemption. The district is using the same indoor mask protocol that students and staff followed in the 2020-21 school year.
Wearing masks at outdoor events will be left up to each individual, school officials said.
The school board also directed Scribner to review the necessity for maintaining the mask mandate on a monthly basis by using CDC guidelines, medical guidelines and local hospital capacity. The superintendent will advise the board on his conclusions, district officials said in a news release.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 6:12 PM.
