On September 17, TEA released revised Public Health Guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. In the guidance document, TEA states the following is a restatement of pre-August 19th guidance:
Per GA-38, school systems cannot require students or staff to wear a mask. GA-38 addresses government-mandated face coverings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other authority to require protective equipment, including masks, in an employment setting is not necessarily affected by GA-38.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has released an opinion in response to a request by Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs regarding whether Executive Order GA-38 creates a right, privilege, power, immunity with regard to face coverings. In the opinion, Paxton noted that GA-38 creates immunity from enforcement of most local governmental mandates that require face coverings and a “court could find…that a governmental official intentionally denying that immunity to an individual by enforcing an unlawful face covering mandate is in violation of section 39.03 of the Penal Code.”
Hobbs also sent in a request for an opinion regarding whether a governor’s emergency disaster order, proclamation, or regulation falls within the definition of “law” under the Penal Code. As of 9/22, this request has not been answered.
The AG’s office maintains a site listing government entities with mask mandates as well as details of those that have had a lawsuit filed against them.