AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – A disabilities rights group is suing Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his ban on mask requirements in schools.
Disability Rights Texas filed a federal lawsuit late Monday night on behalf of 14 child plaintiffs against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. The complaint states that the Governor’s Executive Order GA-38 prohibiting school districts and charter schools from implementing mask mandates is putting students with disabilities at significant risk, is discriminatory, and violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act.
The Governor’s order has drawn legal challenges in courts across Texas, but the action from Disability Rights Texas is the first Federal lawsuit on the matter.
“Under Gov. Abbott’s order, parents of these children face an untenable choice: educate their children at school and expose them to potential severe illness, long COVID, and even death or keep their children home, where they will receive a fraction of their education in one of the least integrated settings available with limited to no exposure to non-disabled peers,” said Tom Melsheimer, attorney from Winston & Strawn. “Either outcome is a violation of students’ rights under the ADA and Section 504, and both are wholly avoidable.”
Governor Abbott has argued that his order does not prevent students from wearing masks, but instead stops school districts from requiring them. The Governor has encouraged mask wearing, but said the time for mandates is over.
The lawsuit was filed in Federal court in Austin. It asks for a temporary restraining order that would require Governor Abbott, TEA, and the districts named to allow local school districts and local public health authorities to require masks for its students and staff as they determine is necessary.
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
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