Dallas schools refuse to comply with Gov. Abbott's mask mandate ban as the state's hospitals get slammed

The second-largest school district in the state is standing up to Gov. Greg Abbott and officially refusing to comply with the Texas Republican's order banning any agency or local government from mandating masks.

On Monday the Dallas Independent School District announced starting Tuesday face coverings will be required for everyone on its campuses, ABC affiliate KVIA reports. The Dallas ISD operates about 230 schools serving approximately 150,000 students.

The state's largest school district, Houston ISD, is also planning to issue a mask mandate, in defiance of the governor's orders. The District's trustees will decide on Thursday if masks will be required, after the Superintendent asked for a mask mandate last week.

Gov. Abbott has his hands full with the exploding coronavirus pandemic. Next to Florida his state has been among the worst performers, with high cases – the current average is just under 14,000 per day, and high numbers of hospitalizations.

On Monday Abbott was forced to beg out of state medical personnel to come to his state to help overwhelmed hospitals. Abbott also asked hospitals to put off elective procedures.

Florida's seven-day average of new cases is over 19,000 per day, but that has not changed Governor Ron DeSantis' mind. School districts there too are fighting back. There are reportedly seven school districts in Florida that are defying DeSantis' mask ban. DeSantis is threatening to withhold paychecks from school district superintendents and school boards if they implement mask mandates.