Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Six School Districts for Defying Ban on Mask Mandates

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Friday announced that he is suing six school districts for defying Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) ban on mask mandates.

Paxton said in a statement:

Not only are superintendents across Texas openly violating state law, but they are using district resources—that ought to be used for teacher merit raises or other educational benefits—to defend their unlawful political maneuvering. If districts choose to spend their money on legal fees, they must do so knowing that my office is ready and willing to litigate these cases. I have full confidence that the courts will side with the law – not acts of political defiance.

The following areas that opted to impose mask wearing requirments that have been hit with legal action are: Richardson, Round Rock, Galveston, Elgin, Spring, and Sherman Independent School Districts.

The Hill notes: “Last month, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Abbott and blocked temporary restraining orders from district courts that had allowed local government entities to defy the governor’s mask mandate ban.”

Abbott recently drew applause from conservatives for issuing an executive order to maintain a ban on vaccine mandates in Texas. He said in a statement:

Governor Abbott issued an Executive Order maintaining the current policy prohibiting the mandating of any COVID-19 vaccinations by any government entity in the State of Texas. Additionally, the Governor added to the Special Session agenda the issue of whether any state or local governmental entities in Texas can mandate that an individual receive a COVID-19 vaccine and, if so, what exemptions should apply to such mandate.

In a separate statement, Abbott said of the order: “Vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of vaccine mandates across Texas.”