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A federal judge has ruled that Texas cannot prevent schools from mandating masks on campus. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said that the policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it puts children with certain health conditions at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
"The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs," Yeakel wrote. "Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital's intensive-care unit."
Yeakel said that students with disabilities "are being denied the benefits of in-person learning on an equal basis as their peers without disabilities."
Kym Davis Rogers, who represented Disability Rights Texas in the lawsuit, praised the ruling.
"As the court found, Texas is not above federal law, and state officials cannot prevent school districts from providing accommodations to students who are especially vulnerable to the risks of COVID-19. We are thankful that school districts can now take the steps necessary to protect these students. No student should be forced to make the choice of forfeiting their education or risking their health, and now they won't have to," Rogers said in a statement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office is weighing all options to challenge Yeakel's decision.
"I strongly disagree with Judge Yeakel's opinion barring my office from giving effect to GA-38, which prohibits mask mandates imposed by government entities like school districts," Paxton wrote on Twitter. "My agency is considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision."