Coronavirus Week 70: Dallas ISD, Dallas County tell Abbott to fuck off in Texas Progressives back-to-school Roundup

I had wondered, yesterday, on Twitter, commenting to the Texas Association of School Boards, this:

.@tasbnews Why hasn't any Texas school district taken a page from the Florida school districts that told Gov. Ron DeSatan and his antimask Florida Man state money to fuck off and done the same to Strangeabbott and the TEA?

— Crushes Xi Jinping Thought Kool-Aid peddlers 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) August 10, 2021

And, I was informed that Dallas ISD has done just that. And Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has backing:

In a statement, Ben Mackey, Dallas’ board president, said he was fully supportive of Hinojosa’s stance. 

“The superintendent is the educational leader and chief executive officer of our school district tasked with the day-to-day operations of the district, which includes implementing safety protocols,” Mackey said. “Requiring masks for staff and students while on district property is a reasonable and necessary safety protocol to protect against the spread of COVID-19 and the new delta variant. 

“Towards the end of last school year, we saw very low transmissions rates on campuses, thanks in part to masks being worn consistently by educators and students.”

Bravo! Houston ISD is reportedly considering a follow-on. Per Hinojosa, it sounds like he thinks it will. And maybe others.

What will Strangeabbott do? Does his proclamation have "loopholes." Will he salute Hinojosa for thinking like Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff 14 months ago? Or will he be as Jesuitical, as casuistry-driven, as he was back then?

Update: Speaking of? Both Bexar County and the city of San Antonio have joined the sue-Abbott frenzy.

If not, can he actually do anything? That's a real question:

Abbott’s executive order, issued in May, bars public schools and the Texas Education Agency from issuing any requirements on mask usage. Those who defy Abbott’s order could be subject to a fine of up to $1,000. It’s unclear how such a penalty could be applied to school districts. 

Asked about a potential fine, Hinojosa responded: “Who knows?” 

“All this is going to play itself out, and we’re not going to be the only ones taking this action,” Hinojosa said.

Well, we'll find out soon enough!

And, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins (also a lawyer, a better one than Abbott, and inheritor of the legal estate of "Strong Arm" Brian Loncar) has ALSO told Abbott to fuck off. That's after enforcing a mandate at Commissioners Court and booting GOP Commish J.J. Koch from the Aug. 3 meeting for not wearing one.

 

Update: Jenkins has now signed an executive order for a mask mandate in the county.

Austin ISD has joined Dallas ISD, too.

A thing or two to unpack.

Abbott's GA-38, following on GA-36, says "$1,000." It does NOT say "per day." It does NOT say that each new day is a new offense. This is why Abbott sucks as a lawyer and as AG and gov has lost two-thirds of Texas cases against the feds. In the cases above, the school boards or the commissioners court will vote to pay a $1,000 fine, if necessary, and challenge Abbott on what's a violation and the no "per day" and related issues.

As far as vaccines? It only covers no vax mandates under their current emergency use authorization. Should one or more of them get a permanent authorization, he's up shit creek on that one, too.

As for suspensions of local disaster declarations? He's now acting as high-handed as the wingnuts said he was 15 months ago.

And, I'd love to see Clay Jenkins take a shot at kicking his ass in court.

See updates to some of this at my "week 71A roundup."

These concerns are real. So says Trump FDA head Scott Gottlieb, among many.

And now, pulled from the regular Texas Progressives roundup for the week, a couple of other items.

First? The TSTA Blog decries Greg Abbott's order forbidding school districts from implementing mask mandates. Let's see what the TSTA Blog says in days ahead. Will it back Dallas ISD or leave it hanging out to dry?

 

Second and national? Rashida Tlaib IS open to charges of semi-hypocrisy, at least, given the apparent size of the wedding, it all being indoors, and no-commenting Fox, per the NY Post. Deal with it, #BlueAnon, and see Gavin Newsom, Steve Adler, Gretchen Whitmer in Tlaib's own Michigan, etc.

Mandy Giles bemoans Greg Abbott's return to bashing trans kids and endangering their health. 

Off the Kuff looks at Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's defiance of Greg Abbott's executive order forbidding local action on mask mandates. 

Dos Centavos is not happy about being back at RED and Stace tells us how he really feels.