School Mask Mandates Are a Disability Rights Issue
Parents of disabled children together with Disability Rights Texas won a ruling in November that could have ramifications well beyond the state of Texas.
In July, Texas Governor Abbot issued an executive order, GA-38, that prohibited schools from instituting a mask mandate. He insisted that whether a child should be compelled to wear a mask should be up to a child’s parents.
Judge Lee Yeakel declared that the Governor’s order violates the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by excluding “disabled children from participating in and denies them the benefits of public schools’ programs, services, and activities to which they are entitled.” This was immediately seen as a win for disabled students in Texas, who, like their cohorts elsewhere, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the ensuing school closures, and breakdowns in the provision of needed services.
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