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Texas, Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah have all banned mandatory masks in schools, a rebuke of safety recommendations from the CDC and the ‘American Academy of Pediatrics. Some conservatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, say they are protecting parent’s choice for those who do not want to wear masks, even as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads across the country and children under the age of 12 years remain ineligible for vaccination.
“Some politicians are trying to turn public safety measures – meaning children wearing masks in school – into political conflicts for their own political gain,” Biden said. “Some are even trying to take power from local educators by banning masks in schools. They set a dangerous tone.”
Biden, in a note sent to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday, said the education ministry must take action to ensure governors and other officials allow safe return to classrooms. class and “do not interfere with the local leaders who make such preparations.”
Cardona, in an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, said he could use the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights to prevent states from banning the wearing of masks in schools. The department could launch civil rights investigations for school districts and state education agencies if their policies hamper students’ access to education.
“Our priority must be the safety of students, families, educators and staff in our school communities,” Biden wrote. “Nothing should interfere with this goal.”
States that prohibit schools from using masks to keep children and staff safe are interfering with the administration’s goal of a safe return to in-person learning, according to the memo. The Education Department also sent letters to Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah on Wednesday, saying their policies “contradict” the demands of the government. American rescue plan.
School districts that have received emergency relief funds from the law are required to “adopt a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of service.” And the law, according to Cardona, gives school districts the power to use funds to “develop strategies and implement public health protocols, including … policies consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening and operation of school facilities “, which includes masks.
Virginia Foxx (RN.C.), a senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee, challenged the department’s interpretation of the law on Wednesday and asked for confirmation that states are not required to ‘authorize mask warrants in schools as a condition for receiving emergency funds.
“These states put students, families and educators needlessly at risk,” Cardona wrote in a blog on Wednesday. “Yet in each of these states there are also educators and others who are taking action to protect the health and safety of their school communities. ”
The letters also reiterated that the department will support school districts that adopt masks and go against state bans.
“We will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that nothing interferes with a school district’s discretion to make these critical investments,” Cardona wrote. He added that the department would also pay the full salaries of educators “if their state decides to withhold their salaries or impose financial penalties on their schools.”
Cardona has also renounced the threat of civil rights investigations, saying his agency has the power to “investigate any public education agency whose policies or actions may infringe the rights of every student to access education. ‘public education equally’. The OCR assesses each allegation of discrimination on a “case-by-case basis,” and the Department’s Office of Special Education Programs ensures that students with disabilities receive free and appropriate public education.
“Let’s be clear: this department will continue to use all the tools in our toolkit to protect the health and safety of students and educators and to maximize in-person learning at the start of the new school year, ”Cardona wrote.
Juan Perez Jr. contributed to this report.
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