Mask mandates are being prohibited in schools by Governor Greg Abbott in Southern state and city. The federal appellate court has temporarily restored his executive order.
Mask Ban Mandates and the Spread of the Corona Virus
The governor’s executive order on November 24 was restoring by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This was after General Ken Paxton did appeal an earlier decision by a federal district judge in Houston. It also allowed schools to enact mask mandates to combat the spread of the Corona Virus.
Disability Rights Texas
In August, the case was originally filing by the advocacy group Disability Rights Texas. The group did argue that the governor’s order and the Texas Education Agency’s enforcement of the ban did put disabled children at risk. Thus, denying them access to public education.
Enforcement Deemed Unnecessary
The three-judge panel that issued the order has stated that there had been “no concrete, or actual or imminent, injury as a result of the enforcement” of Abbott’s executive order.
“A faulty premise is what the district court’s analysis rests on. In fact, it is the only accommodation that is available to plaintiffs is their schools’ ability to, in fact, impose mask mandates,” the panel’s decision has stated.
The months-long legal dispute is an order in another chapter that is between parents, a disability rights organization, and the Texas officials which are over whether the state is violating the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. This is knowing as the ADA.
Violating the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act
Violating the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, the Disability Rights Texas has accused the state. It does forbid organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services.
“There is a great risk for children with special needs because the spread of COVID-19 does pose that,” U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said on November 10th. “Those who contract COVID-19 as with children with certain underlying conditions are really more likely to experience severe acute biological effects. They do require admission to a hospital. Also the hospital’s intensive-care unit.