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    Office of Attorney General Correspondence (Eanes ISD)

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    CBS Austin Webteam
    The letter summarizes that: (1) The school district enacted a local policy mandating masks in schools, exceeding the Governor's executive order prohibiting such mandates; (2) The Governor's executive orders have the force of law and supersede local regulations as confirmed by courts; and (3) The Attorney General will pursue legal action against jurisdictions that enforce local mask mandates in violation of the executive order and court rulings.

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    Office of Attorney General Correspondence (Eanes ISD)

    Uploaded by

    CBS Austin Webteam
    5K views2 pages
    The letter summarizes that: (1) The school district enacted a local policy mandating masks in schools, exceeding the Governor's executive order prohibiting such mandates; (2) The Governor's executive orders have the force of law and supersede local regulations as confirmed by courts; and (3) The Attorney General will pursue legal action against jurisdictions that enforce local mask mandates in violation of the executive order and court rulings.

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    Office of Attorney General Correspondence (Eanes ISD)

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    The letter summarizes that: (1) The school district enacted a local policy mandating masks in schools, exceeding the Governor's executive order prohibiting such mandates; (2) The Governor's executive orders have the force of law and supersede local regulations as confirmed by courts; and (3) The Attorney General will pursue legal action against jurisdictions that enforce local mask mandates in violation of the executive order and court rulings.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    5K views2 pages

    Office of Attorney General Correspondence (Eanes ISD)

    Uploaded by

    CBS Austin Webteam
    The letter summarizes that: (1) The school district enacted a local policy mandating masks in schools, exceeding the Governor's executive order prohibiting such mandates; (2) The Governor's executive orders have the force of law and supersede local regulations as confirmed by courts; and (3) The Attorney General will pursue legal action against jurisdictions that enforce local mask mandates in violation of the executive order and court rulings.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    September 1, 2021

    VIA EMAIL

    Dr. Tom Leonard


    Superintendent, Eanes ISD
    601 Camp Craft Rd.
    Austin, TX 78746
    tleonard@eanesisd.net

    Dear Dr. Leonard:

    Your district recently enacted a local policy mandating that students and faculty wear face
    masks while at school. This mandate exceeds your district’s authority as restricted by Governor
    Abbott’s Executive Order GA-38, which states that “[n]o governmental entity, including a county,
    city, school district, and public health authority, and no governmental official may require any
    person to wear a face covering or to mandate that another person wear a face covering[.]”1

    The Governor’s executive orders “have the force and effect of law” and supersede local
    regulations.2 Courts have previously agreed. 3 Moreover, the Texas Supreme Court has now issued
    three orders staying lower court orders seeking to enjoin the Governor from asserting his authority
    to preempt local face-mask mandates. 4 Most recently, the Texas Supreme Court stated that its stay
    order applies to “[t]his case, and others like it” and that the status quo of gubernatorial oversight
    over the wearing of masks at both the state and local levels “should remain in place while the court
    of appeals, and potentially this Court, examine the parties’ merits arguments[.]”5

    The Texas Supreme Court has spoken. Local court orders purporting to enjoin the
    Governor’s authority may not be enforced while appellate courts consider the underlying merits
    of these cases. This office will pursue further legal action, including any available injunctive relief,
    costs and attorney’s fees, penalties, and sanctions—including contempt of court—available at law

    1
    See Executive Order GA-38, issued July 29, 2021, available at: https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-
    38_continued_response_to_the_COVID-19_disaster_IMAGE_07-29-2021.pdf.
    2
    See, e.g., Tex. Gov’t Code §§ 418.011–.012.
    3
    See, e.g., State v. El Paso Cty., 618 S.W.3d 812 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2020, no pet.).
    4
    https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/orders-opinions/2021/august/august-15-2021.aspx;
    https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/orders-opinions/2021/august/august-26-2021/.
    5
    https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/executive-management/21-
    0720_STAY%20ORDER%20ISSUED__MAND_FILECOPY.pdf.

    P .O . Bo x 1254 8, Aus tin , Texa s 7 8 71 1 -2 5 4 8 • ( 5 1 2 ) 4 6 3- 2 1 0 0 • ww w. tex as a tto r n ey ge ne ra l. go v


    against any local jurisdiction and its employees that persist in enforcing local mask mandates in
    violation of GA-38 and any applicable court order.

    I ask you to rescind your local policy requiring masks in public schools or, alternatively, not
    enforce it pending the Texas Supreme Court’s disposition of the cases before it involving this issue.
    Otherwise, you face potential legal action brought by this office.

    Sincerely,

    Austin Kinghorn
    General Counsel

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