The Education Department announced Monday that it has opened investigations in five Republican-led states – Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah – that have banned mask requirements in schools, to explore whether those policies "discriminate against students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 by preventing them from safely accessing in-person education."
"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," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement released Monday.
“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Dr. Cardona continued. “The department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely.”
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to the chief school officers in those states "outlining how prohibitions of universal indoor masking prevent school districts from implementing health and safety policies that they determine are necessary to protect students from exposure to COVID-19, including those with underlying medical conditions related to their disability."
According to the statement, OCR is concerned that state mask restrictions on schools and school districts "may be preventing schools…from meeting their legal obligations not to discriminate based on disability and from providing an equal educational opportunity to students with disabilities who are at heightened risk of severe illness from COVID-19," per the letter sent to the school officials.
OCR did not open investigations in Florida, Texas, Arkansas or Arizona – states which have had highly publicized mask bans – because those restrictions have either been overturned by courts or are not being enforced for other reasons. But the agency is "closely monitoring” those states and is prepared to take action if necessary."
The move marks a sharp escalation in the Biden administration’s battle with Republican states that say wearing masks should be a personal choice. President Joe Biden last week asked Cardona to explore possible legal action, prompting the department to examine whether the policies could amount to civil rights violations.
The state policies conflict with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends universal mask wearing for students and teachers in the classroom.
If the investigations determine that the state mask bans have discriminated against students with disabilities, it could lead to sanctions including a loss of federal education funding.
The investigations aim to determine whether state mask bans amount to a violation of students’ right to a free, public education. The department is raising concerns that, in areas with high COVID-19 transmissions, the bans could discriminate against students who are at heightened risk for severe illness.
The department is launching the investigations at its own discretion and not in response to complaints from parents, but Cardona said families have raised concerns that mask bans could put children with disabilities or health conditions at risk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.