Congressman Andy Biggs sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona regarding his use of the Office of Civil Rights to target states prohibiting mask mandates in schools. Reps. Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert, and Paul Gosar all cosigned the letter. Attorney General Mark Brnovich also sent a letter to Cardona demanding that the secretary “retract” his threat, saying that the state would address violations of its constitutional rights in federal court.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Monday that they “opened directed investigations in five states exploring whether statewide prohibitions on universal indoor masking discriminate against students with disabilities” by obstructing their ability to attend in-person classes.
The press release also explains that the investigations will explore each state’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). This federal law protects students with disabilities from discrimination based on their disability. Section 504 “guarantees qualified students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education commonly referred to as FAPE. This includes the right of students with disabilities to receive their education in the regular educational environment, alongside their peers without disabilities, to the maximum extent appropriate to their needs.”
Secretary Cardona stated, “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.”
Rep. Bigg’s letter states, “To argue that permitting unmasked children in the classroom is a deprivation of access for others, and that specific deprivation of access is a civil rights violation, makes a mockery of legitimate civil rights violations that rightly deserve to be investigated and prosecuted. It cannot be that providing parents with the freedom to choose whether their child wears a mask in school represents a civil rights violation for other students.”
Biggs said in a press release, “Secretary Cardona’s decision to weaponize the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to target states that have prohibited mask mandates in schools is as dangerous as it is foolish. The purpose of the Office of Civil Rights is to ensure equal access to education, yet Secretary Cardona is determined to use the office to attack states that are following the science in how they protect our children. The Biden administration will stop at nothing to impose its dictatorial agenda on the American people and has reached a new low in denigrating the purpose of the Office of Civil Rights. Secretary Cardona’s intent to force states to mandate masks in schools, a consequential policy based on a desire for control, should not be tolerated.”
Additional cosigners include Rep. Scott Perry (PA-10), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Rep. Andy Harris (MD-01), Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05), Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-09), Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01), and Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21).
