States banning masks mandates may face civil rights probes – together with Utah – Cedar Metropolis Information

President Joe Biden speaks from the East Room of the White House in Washington about the COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Program on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. U.S. health officials on Wednesday announced plans to offer COVID-19 booster vaccinations to all Americans to bolster their protection amid the emerging Delta variant, and signs that the vaccines are wearing off | Photo from associated press file by Susan Walsh, St. George News

NS. GEORGE –In an escalating battle with Republican governors, President Joe Biden on Wednesday directed his education secretary to review possible legal action against states that have blocked school mask mandates and other public health measures to protect students from COVID-19.

Photo by lightspeedshutter / iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

In response, the Department of Education raised the option of using its civil rights arm to fight politics in Florida, Texas, Iowa, and other Republican-led states that have banned public schools from requiring masks in the classroom.

Biden instructed Education Minister Miguel Cardona to “evaluate all available tools” that could be used against states that fail to protect students amid rising coronavirus cases.

“Some state governments have passed policies and laws that affect the ability of schools and counties to protect our children during personal study,” Biden said in an ordinance, adding that some states have “gone so far as to try” . Prevent school officials from taking security measures.

It is the harshest threat to date against states that have ignored White House admonitions amid the swelling pandemic. The move also brings the federal government into increasing cultural wars, which have turned schools into battlefields in a debate about masks.

In an announcement on its website, the Department of Education said guidelines banning mask requirements could amount to discrimination if they create unsafe conditions that prevent students from attending school. The agency can initiate its own investigations into possible violations and also reacts to civil rights complaints from parents and the public.

File photo by Iryna Tolmachova / iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News / iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

“The department has the power to investigate any government education agency whose policies or actions could violate the right of all students to equal access to public education,” Cardona said in a statement. He added that states banning mask mandates “unnecessarily endanger students, families and educators.”

The authority’s office for civil rights can impose a number of sanctions in the event of civil rights violations, up to and including the complete loss of federal education funding.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pushed for a mask ban on schools, and state education officials are now considering withholding the salaries of some superintendents who resisted the order. Texas and at least six other states have similar bans.

The state guidelines contradict the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend the wearing of universal masks for students and teachers in the classroom. The CDC cited the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant in its guidelines.

Biden stated last week that he believes he has no personal authority to overturn the guidelines, but begged Republican governors to reconsider their bans. If they don’t help, he told them to “at least get out of the way.”

While most states allow school districts to set their own mask guidelines, some have fallen on both sides of the debate. Some, including California, Louisiana, and Virginia, moved to requiring masks for most students in schools this fall. In other states where mandates are blocked, heads of state or government say that the decision should lie with the families.

Protesters speaking out against mask mandates have attended state and local school committee meetings in recent weeks and, in some cases, have derailed the meetings.

In letters to Florida and Texas last week, Cardona said their bans could violate the American bailout plan, which allocated $ 123 billion to schools in the country to help them return to the classroom. The guidelines prevent schools from developing safe reopening plans, a requirement of the legislation, he said.

Similar letters are also being sent to Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, Cardona said on Wednesday.

“Let me be clear,” he wrote, “this department will continue to use every tool in our toolbox to protect the health and safety of students and faculty and to maximize personal learning as the new school year begins.”

Written by COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer.

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