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Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, July 29, 2021
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CDC Mask Guidelines Cause Confusion

• With the federal Centers for Disease Control issuing new guidelines this week recommending all individuals wear masks indoors – including children when public school attendance resumes in the fall – Texans are left wondering how it will affect life in the Lone Star State. As Jeramy Kitchen reports, the Texas Legislature ended the 87th Regular Session without addressing mask mandates or addressing the other powers Gov. Greg Abbott granted himself in 2020.
       
• Several lawmakers expressed concerns throughout 2020 with their inability to stop lockdowns and mandates since the Legislature was not in session, effectively allowing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to create laws via executive order in response to COVID-19. The governor ordered Texans to wear masks in public areas on July 2, 2020, and he banned many outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people unless approved by local officials.
      
• In mid-May of this year, the governor issued a new executive order – reversing his earlier position – that included a prohibition on school districts from mandating masks.
   
• With public schools set to start in just a few weeks, the absence of action by the Texas Legislature on things like emergency powers reform, the prohibition of mask mandates, and leaving businesses open to complying with unelected bureaucratic guidelines almost assuredly means massive confusion for the foreseeable future for everyday Texans. It also has left them reliant on Abbott to not reverse his executive order prohibiting things like mask mandates.

• In a statement earlier this week, Gov. Abbott said, “The time for government mask mandates is over.” In fact, governor, there was never a time for government mask mandates. 

Auditing Texas’ 2020 Election

• Republican State Rep. Steve Toth of The Woodlands has filed the “Texas Voter Confidence Act.” Erin Anderson explains the measure would authorize an independent third party to conduct a “forensic audit” of the November 2020 election and report on “any anomalies or discrepancies in voter data, ballot data, or tabulation.”
     
• Legislative business remains stalled in the Texas House without a quorum, since Speaker Dade Phelan has not taken the steps necessary to force Democrats to return to Texas after fleeing to Washington, D.C. The Democrats left specifically to stop consideration of election integrity reforms.
   

• Rep. Toth’s bill is backed by more than 30 other Republican lawmakers and could be refiled in a future special session. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also supports a forensic election audit.
   

• “We absolutely should do an audit here in Texas,” Paxton posted to social media. “Other government agencies audit their procedures all the time. Why not make sure our elections are held to this standard too?”
   

• George P. Bush, who is challenging Paxton the 2022 GOP primary, told texas Scorecard yesterday he also supports an audit of the election. The third candidate in the race, Eva Guzman, did not respond to inquiries regarding her position.

Race-Based Admissions Still A Problem In Texas

• Despite a federal judge’s action this week, the fight to end racial discrimination in college admissions continues in Texas and across the nation. Jacob Asmussen reports on the status of a lawsuit that contends two white student applicants were denied admission because of their skin color.
           
• The lawsuit was brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a “nonprofit membership group of more than 20,000 students, parents, and others who believe that racial classifications and preferences in college admissions are unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional.”
   
• A federal judge in Texas dismissed the lawsuit this week, but the group plans to appeal.

Parents Can Keep Students Back For Academic Improvement

• Across the state, parents are wondering how to help their school-age children after a school year ruined by COVID. As Tera Collum reports, the Texas Legislature gave them one more option during the regular legislative session.
   
• A new law that took effect on June 16, 2021, gives parents more say in their children’s education in combatting the deficits caused by the past school year. Now, parents may decide to hold back students who did not learn enough during the past year.
   
• Parents seeking to hold their child back a grade must notify the school district in writing before the school year starts. This program is limited to the 2021-22 school year for students in fourth grade and up. The option is permanent for parents of pre-K through third-grade students if they feel their children need an extra year to learn.

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