Gov. Abbott could face federal lawsuit over ban on mask mandates in schools

DALLAS - There are a lot of moving parts for school district leaders who are getting support from the White House for requiring masks against the governor's order. 

Last week, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and the TEA commissioner expressing support for local school districts that have implemented mask mandates.

Now, the president has given Cardona the authority to take legal action against state imposing mask bans in schools. Texas is one of those states.

Biden: Education secretary can take legal action against state mask mandate bans

Gov. Abbott may soon find himself facing another federal lawsuit.

President Joe Biden advised the U.S. secretary of education to take legal action if necessary against governors who are trying to "block or intimidate educators who have implemented mask mandates on school campuses due to rising COVID cases."

Constitutional law professor David Coale says a federal case could make a compelling argument. 

"Texas received a lot of financial support for its school system during the pandemic last year. And, of course, federal money comes with strings," he said.

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Texas has received $18 billion for public schools in COVID relief from the federal government.

Coale says that funding likely includes a requirement of compliance with CDC recommendations, which include mask-wearing as a health and safety protocol since students under the age of 12 currently don't qualify for the vaccine.

"He's got a pretty decent argument that Texas needs to comply with those conditions," Coale said.

But President Biden also said Wednesday that the education department would use civil rights enforcement authority to deter states from blocking mask mandates in classrooms.

SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson doesn't think that argument applies here.

"The intent of civil rights laws to prevent discrimination based on race, religion or gender," he said. "It would really be hard to use those laws to overturn gubernatorial action."

More than 50 school districts have been reported to the Texas attorney general as defying Abbott's executive order.

Dallas, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Highland Park, DeSoto, Crowley, Mesquite and Richardson ISDs are among the North Texas districts.

Abbott says his authority is granted under a statewide emergency disaster declaration.

"That's something the courts are going to have to confront in these cases," Coale said.

Those state cases may take some time to resolve.

"This is going to be an ongoing battle for months to come. It's a complete mess," Wilson said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has pledged to fight to enforce the state's ban in court. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of a federal lawsuit.