Local governments defy Abbott’s executive order, issue vaccine, mask mandates

(The Center Square) – The San Antonio Independent School District became the first district in Texas to issue a vaccine mandate for all employees. The El Paso City Council voted to implement a mask mandate. And several school districts are openly defying Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that prohibits them from imposing such mandates.

After a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling granting a temporary stay to Abbott’s order banning mask requirements, Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “Let this ruling serve as a reminder to all [school districts] and local officials that the governor’s order stands. Local mask mandates are illegal.”

Abbott also added, “The ban doesn’t prohibit using masks. Anyone who wants to wear a mask can do so, including in schools.”

But Democratic judges, local officials and school superintendents have said they are defying the order until the Texas Supreme Court issues a final ruling on the matter. Several cases are making their way through courts this month as some schools have already opened for in-person instruction and others are slated to open this week and next week.

San Antonio ISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez sent an ultimatum to staff in a letter on Monday requiring all staff to receive both COVID-19 shots as a condition of employment by Oct. 15.

“We strongly believe that the best path forward as a school district is to require all staff to become vaccinated against COVID-19. And the timing is now,” Martinez wrote. “This is a profound moment where we can choose to lead by example.”

He says 90% of employees have already received both doses. He also sent a letter to parents on Monday stating the district’s policy to implement a mask mandate, “effective immediately.”

Abbott has repeatedly said that vaccines are strictly voluntary in the state of Texas, never forced. He also signed SB 968 into law prohibiting businesses that receive state funds from implementing vaccine passport requirements.

Martinez issued the mandate on the same day as a Bexar County judge ruled that local officials could require mask mandates in schools, defying a Texas Supreme Court ruling and Abbott’s executive order.

In El Paso, Public Health Authority Hector Ocaranza also announced that he was issuing a mask mandate for all residents to follow in indoor establishments, including schools.

“It is my intent to have a local health authority order to have a mask mandate throughout the city and the county in all indoor establishments to include the schools,” Ocaranza told the City Council at an emergency meeting Monday conducted over Zoom.

During the meeting, council members approved a motion 5 to 3 for the city attorney to challenge Abbott’s executive order. City attorney Karla Nieman said she expected to go before a judge Tuesday morning.

Council member Cassandra Hernandez said, “Gov. Abbott has exceeded his authority. We also must remember that the common enemy here is to eradicate COVID-19. It’s not the partisan politics.”

Adolpho Telles, an El Paso business owner and former chairman of the county Republican Party, said the five city council members who voted against the governor exceeded their authority.

“Each person, you’re talking about us as citizens, has the right to do what we think is appropriate for ourselves and our family,” Telles said.

Austin Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde wrote in an op-ed that her mask mandate was designed to protect students.

She wrote, “What if a child dies on my watch? How do I say to you, ‘I’m really sorry. We did everything we could except for masking because the governor’s executive order prohibited me from doing so.’ What does that do for a parent? How does that bring them comfort or solace?”

According to CDC data, children have a roughly 99% survival rate after contracting the coronavirus.

When asked by KXAN News what Elizalde would do if the Texas Supreme Court were to side with Abbott and rule her mandate was illegal, she replied, “When we get to the point that there is no doubt that [we can’t] appeal our position during this period of time, we will abide by the law. At this point, we have a slight difference in opinion about whether the governor’s orders actually apply to independent school districts.”

Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston ISDs mandates are currently being challenged in the courts.

Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II issued a mask requirement for all students, staff and visitors to all campuses and facilities, warning employees who refuse to comply that they would face disciplinary action and noncompliant students would be required to participate in virtual learning. Houston ISD’s back-to-school plan includes exceptions for people with a “documented medical disability.”

In a letter addressed to Abbott this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona wrote, “Texas’s recent actions to block school districts from voluntarily adopting science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 that are aligned with the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts these goals at risk and may infringe upon a school district’s authority to adopt policies to protect students and educators as they develop their safe return to in-person instruction plans required by Federal law.”

The governor’s office has not yet issued a statement in response to the CDC or additional comments related to the multiple lawsuits challenging his executive orders. He has expressed confidence that the Texas Supreme Court will rule in his favor, arguing that his executive orders are legal.

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