The Education Department announced Monday that it’s investigating five Republican-led states that have banned mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Those states have barred schools from requiring masks among all students and staff, a move that the department says could prevent some students from safely attending school.
“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “The department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely.”
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It 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 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.
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.
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“banned mask requirements in schools”
The operative word here is “requirements”. Anyone can choose to wear a mask IF they want to.
“policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions.” BULL S–t
To fully advance the Demonic, Dishonorable Socialist Democrat Party’s destructive agendas of socialism, dividing our citizens with hate, open borders, gun control, radical feminism, abortion-on-demand, the LGBTQ lifestyle, unfettered sexual identity, transgender “gay marriage” and the like, the pagan Liberal left Democrats must do away with our Constitution, GOD, common sense, morality, Christian values and free religious exercise altogether.
Under the guise of “anti-discrimination.”
Exactly!
These bans on Mask Mandates are NOT banning the VOLUNTARY use of masks by ANYONE!
If YOU want to wear a mask: DO SO!
If YOU want YOUR child to wear a mask: DO SO!
The BAN is preventing the School Boards (and OTHER PEOPLE who have NO BUSINESS/RIGHT to DICTATE what OUR CHILDREN wear [or DON’T WEAR]) from MANDATING that our children wear a mask (contrary to ANY SCIENTIFIC STUDY demonstrating the efficacy of CHILDREN wearing masks as a prophylactic).
Seriously… If YOU (School Boards) want to mandate the use of masks, then SHOW US THE SCIENCE (not a CDC recommendation), but the SCIENCE backing up YOUR dictate!
Until then, take your masks, and SHOVE IT!
AND how exactly is “MASK WEARING or not”, a “Civil right” anyway?!?!
Part 1—“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “The department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely.” Nothing political here—just a coincidence that Republican-led states are being targeted. Democrat-led states have problems so big their eyes can’t take it all in.
“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “The department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely.” Again, Mr Cardona, specifically what “civil rights violations” are you referring to?
SO where were they last year, then, WHEN EVERY TEACHER UNION REFUSD TO do In person schooling, EVEN WHEN THE education deps, were GIVING THEM MORE FUNDING??? Where was their ‘civil rights division’ then???
Part 2—This is merely a political ploy enabling you to get your foot in the door to expand government control. Government control is what the COVID fiasco is all about. It is those opposed to the mask mandates, in large part, who are wanting the schools opened back up for in-person learning, so your insinuations of discrimination ring hollow—if there is any discrimination, it is coming from your end.
Being in education, you should be making a better showing. Perhaps you should focus on the finer points of education and leave the decision-making on health concerns to the parents—to individuals in general for that matter. We are capable of making informed choices—and that does not require your blessing, nor the government’s in general, whether or not you think that it does. You control freaks need to familiarize yourselves with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights—we still abide by those here.
Sounds like prosecutorial harassment to me.
IT damn well is…
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, you violate every Americans “civil rights”, as you are a communist. Case closed!
This is a matter for health departments not education. It’s time the Department of Education educate itself on the efficacy of masking and the drawbacks it entails in the areas of social skills and development, of mental health (which has been overlooked inspite of the signs), and of the child’s self such as respect, of pride, of being one’s own person!
So much for the 10th amendment…
If the Department of Education is not focused on teaching children to read, write and do math, it should be abolished. Only Jimmy Carter could have recommended a bureaucracy as wasteful as this department. Time to abolish it because it is no longer useless but harmful.
I have long said, WHAT WE NEED TO DO, is do away with EVERY FEDERAL Dept, not expressly called for in the constitution..
AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE< there is NO requirement IN the constitution, for a federal dept of indoctrination!
The Tenth Amendment assigns all issues not specifically granted the federal government to the States or to the free choice of We, the People. However, the socialist-communists now in power are making each and every tiny detail of our lives a federal issue notwithstanding the Constitutional prohibition.
If not stopped, we will have “approved” beds with “approved” sheets and blankets plus “approved” toothpaste and “approved” vehicles, etc, etc, ad nauseum. But wait, these insane overteaches are already in place. Freedom has been taken from us step by step and regulation by regulation. Bud Brother is setting on his those and we are expected to kneel down and kiss his ring…and pray unto our new lord.
IT IS TIME TO DISSOLVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
Didn’t both sides swear an oath to our constitution? The free choice side is the right side. The others all need to be impeached. POST HASTE!
That is why i would love for ADND like magic to exist, so i could put a ‘curse’ on every politician, so IF THEY DID break their “oaths”, A PIECE of their body would fall OFF!
Senile Joe is already going down in history as the worst president this country ever had. Now to add further to his screw ups, he could very well start a 2nd civil war.
AND he’s only been in office, 8 months.. JUST IMAGINE How much worse things are going to get, before 2024!!
Go for it. The hole you’ve dug for yourselves in the last few weeks will never be deep enough.