CLE Statement on Texas Ruling on School Mask Mandates

CLE applauds Federal District Court Judge Yeakel’s ruling striking down Texas’ Executive Order prohibiting mask mandates in schools. As Judge Yeakel acknowledged in his Order, Texas’ prohibition violated the civil rights of the student plaintiffs, who under the order were either “forced out of in-person learning altogether” or forced to “take on unnecessarily greater health and safety risks than their nondisabled peers.” We are thrilled that these Texas students will now be able to safely access their education, and we hope this court decision is a wake-up call to the other states that have implemented similar discriminatory prohibitions.