Texas AG Ken Paxton Files Lawsuit Against 6 School Districts Mandating Masks

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has filed a lawsuit against six school districts for issuing mask mandates against the governor’s ban.

“The Federal Gov’t is trying to dictate everything. You have my word, I will fight back on every one of his unconstitutional mandates. Not on my watch in Texas,” the Texas Attorney General tweeted a day before he announced the lawsuit.

Back in May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order banning school districts from mandating mask-wearing for students and staff members.

“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,” Paxton said in a statement Friday. “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.” 

At least 108 of Texas’ 1,247 public school districts have issued mask mandates in defiance of the governor’s order. It is unknown as to why Paxton chose these six particular schools for his lawsuit.

During President Joe Biden’s announcement of sweeping plans for fighting COVID-19, he criticized Abbott and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) for threatening schools that are issuing mask mandates for students’ safety.

“To make matters worse, there are elected officials actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19,” Biden said. “Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up, they’re ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying from COVID in their communities. This is totally unacceptable.”

Article by Dongyoon Shin