Masks Required Again at Dallas County Schools, Businesses Under Judge Clay Jenkins’ New Tenure

This is breaking news and will be updated.

Masks will once again be mandatory in schools, businesses and buildings across the county, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Wednesday.

His new executive order comes after a Dallas District Judge issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday evening that restricts the application of Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on mask warrants and while school districts and governments State locals line up to challenge the governor’s order.

The new masking mandate goes into effect Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. and requires the following:

• Masks are to be worn by all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to Dallas County 12th grade daycares and preschools. ISD Dallas has already said they will need masks, and other districts have followed suit. Schools may develop other requirements as well, including social distancing in classrooms.
• All “Dallas County business entities providing goods or services directly to the public,” the order requires, must develop a health and safety policy that includes indoor masks. This includes stories of retail, bars and restaurants, but also many offices and other businesses, Jenkins said. Signs indicating the policy should be visible and posted near a business door. Companies that violate the order can be fined up to $ 1,000.
• Masks are required in all Dallas County buildings.
• Masks are not mandatory in private homes, but are strongly encouraged for anyone 2 years of age or older in general public spaces. No sanction will be applied.

Jenkins said he worked with school principals, restaurant, bar and retail store owners and more when developing the order.

“Your personal freedom is important to me and to you, but your personal freedom does not hurt your neighbors,” Jenkins said. “I hope we will turn the tide somewhat with these orders.”

Jenkins said masking is needed to help slow the spread of the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus as cases skyrocket and hospitals quickly run out of beds. The county yesterday announced more than 3,000 new cases in total over three days. UT Southwestern Medical Center predicts the county will reach more than 2,000 cases per day and more than 1,500 hospital patients by the end of August.

Jenkins first issued mask orders in April 2020, a month after cases of the coronavirus began to appear in Dallas County and elsewhere. At that time, orders also included lockout and occupancy limits. Jenkins said the CDC’s guidelines had changed and did not recommend such drastic action, but the order could change.

“You can see more orders, you can see changes,” Jenkins said. “It’s a small price to pay to protect our children and public health.

Public health experts say the new variant is of particular concern for children under 12 who cannot get the vaccine. As classes resume for the school year, only two pediatric intensive care beds were available across North Texas on Tuesday.

Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD have defied the governor’s order, saying they will need masks. A Bexar County judge issued another restraining order, allowing the county and city of San Antonio to require masks in government-owned buildings and schools.

Immediately after Jenkins’ announcement, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Richardson, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville and Lancaster school districts confirmed they would apply a mask warrant. Dallas Superintendent Michael Hinojosa already announced earlier this week that DISD will enforce its own mask requirement.

“Although we are four independent school districts, our families and communities engage and interact with each other on a regular basis. The health and well-being of a community is interdependent with neighboring communities, ”the superintendents of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville and Lancaster wrote in a statement. “We believe this emergency ordinance aligns with our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our communities. “

Representatives from the Coppell, Highland Park, Garland and Sunnyvale ISDs said their districts are still working on the decision, not yet committing to or opposing the order.

“At that time, Sunnyvale ISD will meet with legal counsel to fully understand the extent of this situation so that we can make the best decision for our students, teachers and families,” spokeswoman Emily White said via text message.

A spokesperson for Irving ISD did not immediately respond to a question about mask requirements.

In a message to families, Richardson officials acknowledged how quickly mask rules are changing.

“This situation continues to change, and the potential for further legal action could change the situation again in the days or weeks to come,” they wrote. “For now, masks will be mandatory.”

Jenkins’ similar order is the result of a court victory Tuesday night in a lawsuit between Jenkins and Dallas County Commissioner JJ Koch, who was escorted to a commissioners tribunal meeting. last week for not wearing a mask. Koch sued Jenkins for violating Abbott’s order, who in turn sued the governor.

A Dallas County judge heard arguments from attorneys for Jenkins and Abbott on Tuesday, before ruling that the governor’s executive order banning local mask warrants was “not [a] measures necessary to combat the pandemic.

“The citizens of Dallas County have been and will continue to be damaged and injured by Governor Abbott’s conduct,” the order reads. “We cannot prevent Justice Jenkins from implementing the mitigation strategies he considers solid, reliable and supported by scientific evidence. “

A hearing on whether the temporary order should become a permanent injunction is scheduled for August 24. Jenkins’ attorneys said on Wednesday they expected there to be no challenge to the order by then.

Attorney General Ken Paxton told conservative radio host Dana Loesch on Wednesday that he plans to appeal the Dallas judge’s ruling to the Texas Supreme Court and hopes to get a ruling later this week or early this year. next year on the validity of Jenkins’ order.

He and Abbott have looked into the warrant ban, saying it should be up to every Texans to choose to wear a mask – although Abbott has repeatedly encouraged people to do so.

“[Jenkins] can’t just make up laws and choose laws he doesn’t like, ”Paxton said on Loesch’s radio show. “He can ask the Dallas County Liberal Justices to do as he asks, but at the end of the day I think we have a Texas Supreme Court that will follow the law.”

Reporters Emily Donaldson, Talia Richman and Corbett Smith contributed to this report.