On Wednesday evening, a U.S. District Court judge in Austin blocked Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates at schools. According to the ruling from Judge Lee Yeakel, Abbott’s actions violate federal law because they present a special danger to students who are at high risk due to preexisting medical conditions. Because of this, refusing to allow schools to institute mask mandates, according to Yeakel, is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  «The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs. Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital's intensive-care unit.» Yeakel makes a series of very simple, and easily defensible, points in his ruling: Students with special health concerns are at higher risk. Schools say that mask mandates will help protect those students in a way that voluntary mask use will not. Evidence supports the idea that near-universal mask-wearing helps slow the spread of COVID-19. Forcing kids at higher risk to participate in classrooms without a mask mandate puts them at higher risk than their peers. If this ruling holds up, it could affect not just mask mandates in Texas, but in multiple states were Republican governors, legislatures, and attorneys general have attempted to prevent schools from requiring masks.  Read more