Texas sues San Antonio school district for requiring staff to get vaccinated

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CN) — The state of Texas sued the San Antonio school district and its superintendent Thursday morning after it declared Monday that all staff must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before Oct. 15.

“Defendants challenge the policy choices made by the state’s commander in chief during times of disaster. But the Texas Legislature made the governor — not some patchwork of county judges, city mayors or superintendents — the leader of the state’s response to and recovery from a statewide emergency,” begins the 21-page complaint, which was filed in a district court in Bexar County, seated in San Antonio.

At the heart of the lawsuit, signed by deputy attorney general Aaron Reitz, is a letter that superintendent Pedro Martinez sent to San Antonio Independent School District staff.

“We strongly believe that the best path forward as a school district is to require all staff to become vaccinated against COVID-19. And the timing is now. This is a profound moment where we can choose to lead by example,” Martinez wrote in the Aug. 16 letter.

In the note, Martinez said that “about 90%” of SAISD staff are already vaccinated, but advised unvaccinated staff to arrange so that they will receive their second dose of the vaccine before Oct. 15.

According to the state’s attorney general, this mandate is preempted by an executive order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued on July 29. The order, titled GA-38, bars government entities from requiring individuals to receive Covid-19 vaccines.

“Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine under an emergency use authorization is always voluntary in Texas and will never be mandated by the government, but it is strongly encouraged for those eligible to receive one,” the order reads in part.

Though Thursday’s lawsuit mentions that the order also prevents governments from mandating the use of masks, it did not explicitly challenge SAISD’s concurrent adoption of a mask mandate. Martinez sent a second letter to parents Monday explaining that staff and students must wear masks in school.

“We are issuing this mask mandate to enforce stability in our classrooms, minimize disruption to your child’s academics, and lessen hardship on families who se children are affected by quarantines for up to 14 days, or worse, illness,” Martinez wrote in both English and Spanish. “Absences due to COVID-19 can lead to a significant loss in days of instruction, and face coverings eliminate the need for quarantine after close contact exposure.”

In a Monday interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Martinez said he was “not really worried” about how the state would respond to his district's vaccine mandate and instead was “just focused on our students.”

San Antonio ISD is not the only Texas school district bucking the governor’s orders. In an effort to skirt the executive order, Paris Independent School District — 100 miles northeast of Dallas — altered its dress code to include face masks.

José Menéndez, a Democrat state senator representing much of San Antonio, promised to begin a legal defense fund backing school who defy Gov. Abbott’s orders. Justin Rodriguez, a Bexar County commissioner, offered $10,000 to any area school fined by the state for requiring students to wear masks.

The state’s lawsuit arrives just days after the Texas Supreme Court sided with Gov. Abbott when he asked the high court to stay mask mandates issued by San Antonio and Dallas city officials, mandates that had been upheld by district courts and Texas’ Fourth Court of Appeals.

Abbott announced Tuesday evening that he tested positive for Covid-19 but maintained that he was not experiencing symptoms. Though Abbott has reportedly received three vaccine shots, he is receiving monoclonal antibody therapy and is isolating in the governor’s mansion.

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