The Education Department’s civil rights office is investigating if five states discriminated against students with disabilities by banning school mask mandates.
School officials in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah received letters from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notifying them of the probe. If they are found to have violated federal law by failing to create a safe atmosphere for disabled students, they could lose funding.
Axios explains: “The letter marks an escalation in the Biden administration’s standoff with Republican states that say wearing masks should be a personal decision and that parents should choose for their children.”
In a statement, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona explained the move:
The Department has heard from parents from across the country — particularly parents of students with disabilities and with underlying medical conditions — about how state bans on universal indoor masking are putting their children at risk and preventing them from accessing in-person learning equally. It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve. The Department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely and the rights of local educators to put in place policies that allow all students to return to the classroom full-time in-person safely this fall.
The Associated Press adds:
The department said it has not opened investigations in other states where mask bans have been overturned by courts or are not being enforced, including in Florida, Texas, Arkansas and Arizona. But the agency said it is “closely monitoring” those states and is prepared to take action if necessary.