Texas Won't Enforce Governor's Mask Mandate Ban for Now

U.S.|Texas drops enforcement of governor’s disguise mandate prohibition for now.

• Aug. 19, 2021Updated 10:20 p.m. ET

The Texas Education Agency said it would temporarily halt enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott’s prohibition connected disguise mandates Thursday and the State Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing schoolhouse districts to necessitate face-coverings. Both decisions are temporary.

The agency said successful caller guidance that it would instantly halt enforcing the prohibition connected disguise mandates until litigations were resolved.

In a reversal, the agency’s caller guidance requires schools to notify their section wellness department if a pupil tests positive. The schoolhouse indispensable besides notify students successful the aforesaid schoolroom arsenic good arsenic those who stock extracurricular activities.

As coronavirus hospitalizations person again surged successful the state, nearing past year’s peaks, Mr. Abbott has resisted calls for caller mandates and doubled down connected his ban.

The governor’s disguise mandate prohibition has been making its mode done the courts arsenic schoolhouse districts person continued to situation it. Seven counties and 48 schoolhouse districts person defied the politician by ordering disguise mandates, The Associated Press reported. Several ample cities, including Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, person bucked the governor’s ban.

School districts accidental they request disguise mandates to combat a confluence of factors — including the Delta microorganism variant’s contagiousness and the information that radical nether 12 are not yet eligible to beryllium vaccinated — that are sending more children to hospitals, particularly successful areas of the state wherever the microorganism is surging, similar Texas.

Last week, aft Mr. Abbott’s prohibition suffered astatine slightest 3 legal setbacks, the authorities lawyer general, Ken Paxton, said that helium was taking the contented to the State Supreme Court. The setbacks were successful areas with Democratic leaders, rampant cases and rising hospitalizations.

The State Supreme Court sided with the governor connected Sunday, ruling temporarily that schools could not marque masks mandatory.

Thursday’s ruling denied the governor’s petition to artifact a Travis County judge’s impermanent restraining bid that allowed disguise mandates. The tribunal said the lawyer wide should person taken his lawsuit archetypal to an appellate court.