Ecce Weasel

BREAKING: Texas’ ban on mask mandates in schools is overturned by a federal judge, says it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Local officials can now make their own mask rules and bars the Attorney General's office from enforcing GA-38. https://t.co/fswFiCLRhL

— Brian Lopez (@brianlopeztx) November 11, 2021

In court documents, Ryan Kercher, the attorney representing the state, argued that neither the attorney general nor the state education agency were enforcing the executive order so they couldn’t be sued.

But Disability Rights Texas attorneys said the three were enforcing the order and provided the court with a letter that the TEA sent to the attorney general’s office. In it, the education agency listed school districts that appeared to be operating in violation of the governor's order. The plaintiffs also noted how Paxton sued several school districts over requiring masks and sent “threatening” letters to districts telling them that they were violating the order. 

This isn’t the first time state attorneys argued that Paxton and Abbott didn’t actually enforce the law. In an August lawsuit against the state over the mask order, Paxton made the same argument and indicated that it was up to local county prosecutors to enforce the order.

The issue of enforcement is a civil one, not a criminal one, so the Texas AG is perfectly within its authority to enforce the governor's order.  That they don't try to probably indicates a lack of resources in the AG's office, and an unwillingness to directly piss off parents by forcing their schools to hire lawyers to defend policies that keep their children safe.  Paxton's facing re-election, after all.

I mean....

The case was filed and heard while Texas schools had more coronavirus cases in the first two months of the school year than they did in the entire 2020-21 school year. 

Parents tend to notice things like that.  So Paxton wants local DA's to enforce it, who of course are elected officials elected by the parents who send their kids to the schools the DA would be suing, not only challenging the parent's rights to keep their kids safe, but costing the schools money in lawyer's fees.

Small wonder such suits haven't sprung up like mushrooms after rain.  Paxton wants the credit; Paxton doesn't want the blame.