Texas AG Paxton sues Richardson ISD over mask mandate. Will Dallas ISD be next?

This is a development story and is updated regularly.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton announced Friday that he had filed a lawsuit against Richardson ISD to fulfill his promise to sue school districts that require masks.

The district defied Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order that banned local facilities from requiring masks. The RISD trustees voted last week to confirm Superintendent Jeannie Stone’s decision to require face covers after a surge in COVID-19 cases forced them to close an elementary school and admit a sixth grader to intensive care.

Paxton noted in a press release that the office expects to file additional lawsuits against the districts that violate the governor’s order. That could include Dallas ISD – the first to openly challenge Abbott.

“Superintendents across Texas not only openly violate state laws, but also use district resources that should be used for teacher pay increases or other educational benefits to defend their illegal political maneuvers,” Paxton said in a statement.

In a statement from the district, Richardson’s spokesman Tim Clark stated that “RISD has not been served such a lawsuit and does not address any pending litigation.”

RISD officials noted that masks are needed to protect students and staff amid a spate of COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. More than half of all public school students are too young to get the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend universal masking in schools.

“We see that COVID is getting worse and worse. Must close Brentfield [Elementary] was an eye opener for us, ”said Karen Clardy, President of the Richardson ISD board of directors, after last week’s emergency meeting.

Richardson is among the first Texas districts to be sued by Paxton. On Friday, he also filed a lawsuit against the Galveston, Elgin, Spring and Sherman school districts, according to his office.

He has railed against the dozen of school districts and counties adhering to masking requirements and repeatedly posted on social media that he would sue them all. Paxton’s office maintains an evolving list of local institutions that require masks.

Meanwhile, Abbott’s order is bound in both state and federal courts as counties and attorneys urge that mask mandates be local decisions.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is currently in a lawsuit with the state over his decision to impose a local mask mandate for businesses and schools.

Disability Rights Texas recently escalated litigation and filed a federal lawsuit against Abbott alleging that its order unfairly harms children with disabilities.

Richardson trustees also recently voted to join an existing multi-district lawsuit challenging Abbott’s ban, which argues that the governor’s order exceeds his authority and violates local scrutiny.

Paxton’s move could have state implications as well. The Department of Education’s Civil Rights Bureau recently opened an investigation into five states that ban mask requirements and said such bans could violate federal law protecting students with disabilities.

Department officials said they have not opened an investigation into Texas because the ban is currently not being enforced due to court orders.

The legal battle over masks comes as schools report thousands of new COVID-19 cases.

Schools across the state reported that almost 74,000 students tested positive just weeks into this school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. The state reported approximately 148,000 positive COVID-19 student cases for the entire final school year. Nearly 5.4 million students attend public schools in Texas.

Richardson, which enrolls around 37,400 children, has seen more than 720 student cases since early August. The district counted a total of around 1,850 student cases in the last school year when many students were learning virtually.

Ashley Jones, director of the RISD Health Services, heard from school officials at the meeting last week that some parents are getting together and are deliberately not testing their children.

“This is the environment we start our school with,” she warned.

The borough closed Brentfield for 10 days after nearly a quarter of its students were absent from classroom school last week, including 29 people with active COVID-19 cases.

The trustees said during their meeting that their top priority is for the children to learn in person as safely as possible.

The DMN Education Lab deepens reporting and discussion on pressing educational issues that are critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control over the Education Lab’s journalism.

[ad_1]