Texas State Supreme Court Upholds Texas’ Mask Mandate Ban

U.S.|The Texas State Supreme Court upholds the governor’s mask-mandate ban, for now.

• Published Aug. 15, 2021Updated Aug. 16, 2021, 1:06 p.m. ET

The politician of Texas can prohibition mask mandates, astatine slightest for now, aft the State Supreme Court sided with the authorities connected Sunday, granting a petition for an exigency enactment of an appellate tribunal ruling that would person allowed schools to marque look coverings mandatory.

The determination is temporary, lasting lone until the State Supreme Court, whose justices are elected and are presently each Republicans, makes a last ruling.The Dallas Independent School District and San Antonio Independent School District each said connected Monday that they would proceed to necessitate masks for now, contempt the ruling.

“The City of San Antonio and Bexar County’s effect to the Texas Supreme Court continues to stress that the politician cannot usage his exigency powers to suspend laws that supply section entities the needed flexibility to enactment successful an emergency,” Andy Segovia, San Antonio’s metropolis attorney, said successful a statement connected Sunday. “His suspension authorization is meant to facilitate action, not prohibit it.”

Late connected Friday, aft Gov. Greg Abbott’s prohibition suffered astatine slightest 3 ineligible setbacks, the authorities lawyer general, Ken Paxton, said helium was taking the contented to the State Supreme Court.

The escalating conflict comes arsenic schools astir the state open, oregon hole to bash so, with tens of millions of children nether 12 ineligible for vaccination. Hospitalizations of young radical person been increasing arsenic the highly transmissible Delta variant of the microorganism has spread.

Some Republicans person formed disguise rules arsenic an infringement connected parental rights, portion galore Democrats clasp that they are a substance of nationalist health.

The setbacks for Mr. Abbott connected Friday were successful areas with Democratic leaders, rampant coronavirus cases and rising hospitalizations.

Vaccinations successful Texas lag down those of galore different states, and coronavirus deaths are rising, though acold much dilatory than successful anterior waves, fixed that a bulk of the state’s oldest and astir susceptible residents are present vaccinated.

A authorities territory justice gave Harris County, which includes Houston, and respective schoolhouse districts crossed the authorities temporary support to instrumentality information measures, including disguise mandates.

In San Antonio, the state’s Fourth Court of Appeals denied Mr. Abbott’s situation to an earlier ruling upholding a schoolhouse disguise mandate for Bexar County.

Shortly aft the San Antonio tribunal issued its ruling, the Fifth Court of Appeals successful Dallas denied Mr. Abbott’s situation to a region official’s disguise mandate for nationalist schools, universities and businesses.

The authoritative who issued that order, Clay Jenkins, praised the ruling. “We should each beryllium together; Team Human v Virus,” he wrote connected Twitter. “I’ll support pursuing the doctor’s counsel and enactment with anyone to bushed #COVID19.”

On Sunday evening, aft the State Supreme Court’s decision, Judge Jenkins wrote connected Twitter that the tribunal had “narrowly ruled.” “We won’t halt moving with parents, doctors, schools,” helium continued, “to support you and mean to triumph that hearing.”