South Carolina is among five states the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into regarding indoor masking bans and the possibility of discrimination against disabled students.

The office is looking into whether statewide prohibitions on universal indoor masking discriminate against students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 by preventing them from safely accessing in-person education, according to a Monday afternoon news release.

“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,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in the release. “It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve. The Department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely and the rights of local educators to put in place policies that allow all students to return to the classroom full-time in-person safely this fall.”

According to the release, the office also sent letters on Monday to the chief state school officers of Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah, outlining how prohibitions of universal indoor masking prevent school districts from implementing health and safety policies that they determine are necessary to protect students from exposure to COVID-19, including those with underlying medical conditions related to their disability.

The letter states concerns that state mask restrictions on schools and school districts “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 release said.

Investigations have not been opened in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, or Arizona because those states’ bans on indoor masking are not currently being enforced as a result of court orders or other state actions, according to the release. Due to these rulings and actions, districts should be able to Implement indoor masking in schools to protect the health and safety of their students and staff.

“However, 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 or if the current court decisions were to be reversed,” the release said.

As part of the investigations, each state’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504, which is a federal law that protects students with disabilities from discrimination based on their disability, will be carefully looked at, the release said. This section guarantees qualified students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education in elementary and secondary school, commonly referred to as “FAPE.” This includes the right of students with disabilities to receive their education in a regular educational environment, along with peers without disabilities, to the maximum extent appropriate to their needs.

States will also be investigated on whether statewide banning of indoor masking violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits disability discrimination by public entities, including public education systems and institutions, according to the release. The offices regional offices will begin collecting data from each state educational agency over the next few weeks.

“Opening a directed investigation does not imply that OCR has decided whether there has been a violation of a law that OCR enforces,” the release said.

President Joe Biden issued a Presidential Memorandum on Aug. 18 directing the U.S. Secretary of Education to assess tools are available for all students to have the opportunity to participate and remain in full-time, in-person learning safely, without compromising their health or the health of their families.

In response to Biden’s memo, Cardona laid out the steps the department can take to protect the rights of all students to access safe in-person learning equally, including using the enforcement authority of the Office for Civil Rights, according to the release.

In addition, Cardona sent letters earlier this month to each of the states that are the subject of the investigations, which noted: “The safe return to in-person instruction requires that school districts be able to protect the health and safety of students and educators, and that families have confidence that their schools are doing everything possible to keep students healthy.”

Education and Family Issues Reporter Krys Merryman can be reached at 864.420.7111 or kmerryman@greenvillenews.com. Continue the conversation or join a new one on our Education and Family Issues in Greenville Facebook page.

Credit: Original article published here.