The board voted 5-2 to join the lawsuit with board members Eron Linn and Chris Poteet voting against it following an executive session that lasted into the early hours of Aug. 24.
“This action is about local control,” board President Karen Clardy said in a statement. “Locally-elected boards of trustees have rights and responsibilities under Texas law to make decisions for their local school districts. With this vote, RISD joins with other Texas ISDs in an effort to protect that local control so school districts can make local decisions based on local conditions to determine what is safe for students and staff in our local communities.”
RISD is the latest of several school districts throughout the state that have joined the lawsuit as intervenors—or third parties entering an existing civil case that were not named as an original party but have a stake in the outcome. In addition to LJISD, plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Edinburg CISD, Hidalgo ISD, Brownsville ISD, Crowley ISD and Edcouch-Elsa ISD.
Initially filed Aug. 12, LJISD’s lawsuit argues Abbott does not have the authority to stop school districts from implementing mask mandates.
“The Texas Disaster Act does not delegate any authority to the governor that would allow him to issue such a prohibition,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiffs respectfully request the court declare that the governor’s declaration in Executive Order GA-38 that school districts cannot adopt masking requirements is ultra vires and invalid because the Texas Disaster Act conveys no such power to the governor.”
The lawsuit highlights the rising number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Texas, which had surpassed 13,600 as of Aug. 24, according to data provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“This data is particularly troubling for school districts because Texas schoolchildren under the age of 12 cannot currently be vaccinated,” the lawsuit reads. “Based on data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 99.5% of the COVID-19 deaths since February 2021 have been people who were unvaccinated.”
Further, the lawsuit contends because less than 50% of the Texas population is fully vaccinated, providing in-person classroom instruction without appropriate safety measures threatens the broader public.
RISD began requiring masks on all district properties Aug. 17. According to Abbott’s executive order, entities that establish such mandates are subject to a fine of up to $1,000, though the order does not specify how the penalty would be applied to school districts.
Wesley Gardner contributed to this report.
