Texas Religious Schools Can Reopen Despite Local Orders

Private religious schools throughout Texas can make the call on whether to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote an open letter on Friday, saying local governments can't force religious private schools to follow state health guidelines, which means they can reopen schools even if public schools aren't allowed. 

Paxton said stopping religious schools from reopening violates the Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.

“Under the Governor’s orders, local governments are prohibited from closing religious institutions or dictating mitigation strategies to those institutions,” Paxton wrote. “Local governments are similarly prohibited from issuing blanket orders closing religious private schools. Because a local order closing a religious private school or institution is inconsistent with the Governor’s order, any local order is invalid to the extent it purports to do so."

Republicans have encouraged states to allow schools to reopen this fall. But Texas has seen an uptick in coronavirus cases, with more than 10,000 reported for three straight days on Thursday. Now the state is reversing its business reopenings and has placed capacity limits on restaurants and closed bars, so public schools aren't likely to open this fall.

“Moreover, local public health orders attempting to restrict the provision of religious instruction through religious private schools violate the United States and Texas Constitutions and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act," Paxton added.

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