The US Department of Education on Monday opened civil rights investigations into five states that have banned or limited mask requirements in (public K-12) schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights announced the investigations in letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. Those states have issued varying prohibitions on mask requirements, which the office says could prevent some students from safely attending school.
The states under investigation have adopted policies that outlaw or curb mask mandates.
Those policies conflict with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends universal mask wearing for public (K-12) students and teachers in the classroom. The CDC issued the guidance in light of the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19.
In announcing the investigations, the department said it will examine whether the policies violate a federal law protecting students with disabilities. Under that law, students with disabilities must be given access to a “free appropriate public education” alongside their peers without disabilities.
But states that outlaw mask mandates could be preventing schools from taking necessary steps to protect students with disabilities or medical conditions, the department said.
Education Department investigations often end with voluntary agreements that remedy alleged violations. But if the agency concludes that states violated civil rights laws, it could issue sanctions as severe as a loss of federal education funding.
In Florida, which had taken one of the toughest stances against mask mandates, is not a currently a subject of the investigation, as a judge ruled Friday that schools are legally allowed to require masks. The judge overturned an order from Gov. Ron DeSantis that had barred such mandates, ruling that it was unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
Liberty University shifts to online after COVID outbreak
Liberty University on Monday abruptly switched to virtual classes — just a week after they began — because of a spike in coronavirus cases.
Liberty made the move because the campus infection rate is higher than at anytime last year, and the local hospital has reached capacity for ICU COVID treatment, and the schools’ quarantine capacity has been reached.
On Aug. 15, the campus reported just three positive cases, according to the school’s online dashboard. By Aug. 24, that number among students had spiked to 124. There are an additional 35 cases among the faculty and staff.
Nearly 500 people had been asked to quarantine.
Florida university presidents say their "hands are tied"
Meanwhile, presidents at Florida's public universities are reminding students and faculty that campus leaders’ “hands are tied” when it comes to taking steps to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 and are trying to work around limitations as the academic year is underway.
The state university system’s Board of Governors, which is holding meetings today and Wednesday at Florida International University, is not slated to discuss campus COVID-19 measures.