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The Biden administration is probing the legality of bans on universal mask mandates in five states.
The U.S. Education Department announced that it is investigating through its Office of Civil Rights, Utah, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa and Oklahoma over the prohibitions. The agency wants to determine if they are hindering the ability of vulnerable children to safely attend school.
A letter to state officials stated that they “may be preventing schools from meeting their legal obligations not to discriminate based on disability and from providing an equal educational opportunity to students with disabilities who are at heightened risk of severe illness from COVID-19.”
“The Department has heard from parents from across the country – particularly parents of students with disabilities and with underlying medical conditions – about how state bans on universal indoor masking are putting their children at risk and preventing them from accessing in-person learning equally,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release. --->READ MORE HERE
The Education Department announced Monday that it is investigating five Republican-led states blocking local school districts from requiring masks to protect against the coronavirus , claiming the policies discriminate against students with health conditions and disabilities.
The DOE's Office for Civil Rights sent letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina , Tennessee, and Utah.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the department has heard from parents across the country about how state bans on universal indoor masking are "putting their children at risk and preventing them from accessing in-person learning equally."
“It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Cardona said in a statement. “The department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely.”
Monday's move injects the federal government into the center of a contentious state and local debate over how to safely return to in-person learning amid a surge of the highly contagious delta variant in several states. --->READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to related stories and resources:
Biden Education Department threatens money to five states over bans on indoor mask requirements
Child obesity increased during COVID-19 pandemic: study
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
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