Utah is now under federal investigation for its ban on schools enacting mask mandates — which the U.S. Department of Education believes is discriminatory toward students with disabilities or health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.
The department announced the civil rights investigation here and in four other states with similar prohibitions Monday. Those are: Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee, all of which are also led by Republican governors.
“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement.
The investigations come after Cardona sent warning letters to several state governors and superintendents earlier this month, asking them to reconsider their bans or face a review over whether they’re in violation of federal law. He suggests that states that limit mask wearing in schools are willfully putting young kids at risk.
The Biden Administration has been escalating its battles with conservative governors over face coverings as school has started, with the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreading and kids under age 12 not yet eligible to get the vaccine.
But Utah leaders have resisted the pressure and stood by its ban. Gov. Spencer Cox previously called the letter from the Department of Education “extremely unhelpful.”
He added, in part: “In Utah, the last thing we need is threats from out-of-touch bureaucrats.”
The Salt Lake Tribune will update this developing story.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/2WvVh0w
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