HOUSTON — Some of the 15 Texas school districts that have been sued in the past week for defying Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates are pushing back against the lawsuits.

One school district said Wednesday it doesn’t have such a mandate and isn’t sure why it’s being sued. Another district that has made masks part of its student dress code said its requirement for face coverings has resulted in its schools having among the state’s fewest COVID-19 absences.

At least eight counties and cities and 87 school districts or systems in Texas have imposed mask mandates hoping to tamp down the pandemic, which has overwhelmed many of the state’s hospitals with COVID-19 cases.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton began suing school districts last week.