Department of Education Opens Investigation of Texas Schools Over Mask Mandate Ban
© FRANCOIS PICARD/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Tuesday announced it was opening an investigation into the Texas Education Agency and the impact of its mask mandate ban on students with disabilities. Above, children wearing face masks walk outside Condit Elementary School in Bellaire outside Houston, Texas, on December 16, 2020. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said Tuesday it is investigating to determine whether bans on mask mandates in Texas schools are negatively impacting students with disabilities. A letter dated Tuesday that was addressed to Mike Morah, the commissioner of education with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), notified the TEA the OCR was opening its investigation to look into whether the agency "may be preventing school districts in the state from considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities" as a result of a statewide policy that bans mask mandates in schools amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 7 Things To Know About COVID-19 And Children As The DELTA Variant Continues SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL Click to expand UP NEXT The letter was signed by Suzanne Goldberg, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education. A copy of the letter was shared by The Houston Chronicle. According to the Chronicle, Texas has now joined five other states in facing federal inquiries regarding its rules for mask mandates. Goldberg's letter noted students' return to classrooms for in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester as the U.S. continued battling the pandemic. While some states have implemented mask mandates for students, teachers and school staff members, the TEA has enforced an executive order signed earlier this year by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that prevents school districts from requiring members of school communities to wear masks. The TEA last week reiterated guidance it issued in August indicating its continued enforcement of Abbott's executive order. "Per GA-38, school systems cannot require students or staff to wear a mask," the TEA's updated guidance said. The agency added that while mask mandates were not allowed, schools cannot prevent students or staff members from wearing masks if they choose to do so. In the OCR's letter, Goldberg acknowledged data that shows "children with some underlying medical conditions, including those with certain disabilities, are at higher risk than other children for experiencing severe illness from COVID-19." The letter said there was concern that the ban on mask mandates upheld by the TEA "may be preventing schools in Texas 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 OCR noted the launch of its investigation "in no way implies that OCR has decided whether there has been a violation" of federal laws protecting students with disabilities and said the OCR will be contacting the TEA within the next week to gather information needed to move forward with its investigation. Newsweek reached out to the Texas Education Agency for comment and will update this article with any response. Related Articles Start your unlimited Newsweek trial
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US Education Department investigating Texas' ban on school mask mandates
© KLTV Abbott The US Education Department's civil rights enforcement arm is opening an investigation to determine whether Texas' ban on school mask mandates is preventing school districts from "considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities." The Department's Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Tuesday detailing how "OCR is concerned that Texas's restriction on schools and school districts from putting masking requirements in place may be preventing schools in Texas 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." Tuesday's letter notes that opening this kind of investigation "in no way implies that OCR has decided whether there has been a violation of a law OCR enforces" and that "during the investigation, OCR is a neutral factfinder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from TEA and other sources as appropriate prior to reaching a determination in this matter." The investigation brings a new layer of scrutiny to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on school mask mandates, which a number of school districts are challenging. Abbott, a Republican, signed the order in May and has defended it despite guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending masks for everyone in schools regardless of vaccination status. In a memo released on Friday, the Texas Education Agency further underscored that, per the governor's executive order, "school systems cannot require students or staff to wear a mask." "School systems must allow individuals to wear a mask if they choose to do so," the memo adds. The education agency did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. The Education Department announced last month that it had sent letters to chief state school officials in five states -- Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah -- notifying them of new directed investigations into whether their state mask restrictions prevented students with disabilities from "safely returning to in-person education, in violation of Federal law." At the time, the Office for Civil Rights said it had not opened investigations in states like Texas and Florida "because those states' bans on universal indoor masking are not currently being enforced as a result of court orders or other state actions," the agency noted in its August 30 release, adding that "the Department will continue to closely monitor those states and is prepared to take action if state leaders prevent local schools or districts from implementing universal indoor masking in schools or if the current court decisions were to be reversed." The department has since launched an investigation in Florida as well.