Education Week - September 1, 2021 - 10

Federal COVID Aid a Flash Point as Tensions
Escalate Over School Mask Policies
By Evie Blad
Tensions over whether schools can
require universal mask-wearing have
heightened to a new point as local,
state, and federal officials spar over
how to operate schools during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal relief funds have played
a key role in that debate, and that's
gotten the attention of the ranking
member of the House Education
Committee.
" Are states required, as a condition
of state receipt of [American
Rescue Plan COVID-19 relief
funds], to allow school districts to
mandate the use of masks?, " Rep.
Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., wrote to U.S.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
Aug. 18.
Her letter came after Cardona
wrote a series of letters to leaders
of the eight states that ban mask
mandates, alerting them that that
schools can use American Rescue
Plan relief aid to make up for any financial
penalties they face for defying
state leaders. That assertion was
put to the test in Florida last week as
two districts, in Broward and Alachua
counties, faced the prospect
of the first state consequences over
the issue.
Cardona's letters " implied " that
the Education Department would
" impose new requirements " for
federal aid " that could interfere in
state governance of their education
systems, " Foxx wrote.
In his response to Foxx Aug. 20,
Cardona stressed the Biden administration's
previous statements on
the issue. Federal regulations for
the relief aid issued in April require
school districts to make plans for
how they will reopen schools and
how they will address recommendations
from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, including
a call for the universal wearing of
masks, he wrote.
That does not mean that requiring
masks is a prerequisite for ARP
funding, an Education Department
spokesperson said in response to
questions from Education Week.
But Cardona stressed in his letters
that states that tie districts' hands on
the issue may be standing in the way
of creating their aid plans.
" Our priority must be to help ensure
that every student can safely
return to school in person, which
necessitates protecting the health
and safety of school communities
and families, " Cardona wrote.
He also highlighted an Aug. 18
memo from President Joe Biden that
directed the Education Department
to use " all available tools " to ensure
that " Governors and other officials
are taking all appropriate steps to
prepare for a safe return to school
for our Nation's children, including
not standing in the way of local leadof
face coverings and prioritized individual
rights in their decisions.
The CDC has repeatedly stressed
that schools should open for in-person
learning this year, but officials
have called for " layered mitigation "
strategies, including masks and
proper ventilation, to help reduce
risk. As the more-contagious Delta
variant spread rapidly in July, the
agency revised its recommendations
to schools to call for universal
mask-wearing, even among those
who are vaccinated.
Masks help prevent the wearer
from contracting the virus and, worn
universally, slow spread among populations,
case studies have found.
Legal action over bans on school
mask requirements
Many of the states that have
banned local mask requirements
have low vaccination rates and high
rates of infection and hospitalization
attributed to the Delta variant.
Leaders in those states have faced
ers making such preparations. "
In response to that memo, Cardona
said the agency's office for civil
rights may investigate complaints
that a lack of universal masking has
created an unsafe environment for
some students, violating their rights
under federal law. In some states
with bans on mask mandates, such
as Texas, students with disabilities
have sued using similar arguments.
" Part of the Department's mission
in the context of the pandemic is to
support all students in equal access
to safe schools and meaningful opportunities
for in-person learning, "
the agency spokesperson told Education
Week. " Withholding or denying
access to those resources is
a barrier to achieving that mission
and is a path the Department does
not want to take. "
States defend bans on school
mask mandates
Cardona's assertions aren't the
only way that federal relief funds
have gotten caught up in the mask
debate.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced
Aug. 17 a new $163 million
grant program using a state-controlled
portion of the ARP aid. The
program would provide up to $1,800
in additional per-pupil funding to
recipient schools, but those that
require mask mandates or return to
remote learning wouldn't qualify, he
said.
" Safety recommendations are welcomed
and encouraged-mandates
that place more stress on students
and families aren't, " Ducey said when
he announced the program. " These
grants acknowledge efforts by schools
10 | EDUCATION WEEK | September 1, 2021 | www.edweek.org
and educators that are following state
laws and keeping their classroom
doors open for Arizona's students. "
No state " should use federal funds
to prevent or discourage schools from
using evidence-based approaches to
stop the spread of COVID-19, " the
U.S. Treasury Department said in response
to Ducey.
Cardona and Biden have called defiant
superintendents in Arizona and
Florida, urging them to stand their
ground and keep their local mask
rules in place. They stressed that
federal funding could help backfill
for any state penalties.
Tension over the issue has been
most prominent in Florida, where
state officials have threatened to
withhold funding equivalent to
school board members' pay to punish
two districts that have set requirements
in violation of an executive
order by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a
Republican. Six districts there have
adopted universal mask requirements
that don't allow families to
easily opt out.
The state's board of education gave
the Broward and Alachua county districts
48 hours Aug. 20 to undo their
mask rules or it would withhold state
funds equivalent to the salaries of
their school board members.
" We cannot have government officials
pick and choose what laws they
want to follow, " said Commissioner
of Education Richard Corcoran in a
statement to the Associated Press.
Both districts held firm in their
plans.
Corcoran and DeSantis have said
they believe that parents should decide
whether or not their children
wear masks to school. They've questioned
research on the effectiveness
Chalk drawings remind
students to wear masks at
school. Mask mandates-
and the banning of mask
requirements in some
states-have fueled tensions
between states and local
districts.
overlapping legal challenges over the
issue.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a
Democrat, rescinded his statewide
school mask mandate Aug. 23 after
the state's supreme court made a
ruling supporting limits on his emergency
powers. A separate mask requirement
for public K-12 schools
set by the state's board of education
remained in effect.
In Florida, a judge started a threeday
hearing last week to consider a
lawsuit brought by parents who argue
that DeSantis has kept the state from
providing " safe and secure public
schools " by enforcing his order.
Meanwhile, defiant districts there
stood by their decisions.
In a letter to DeSantis, Alachua
County Superintendent Carlee Simon
said Aug. 22 that the 30,000-student
school system had 273 student
COVID-19 cases and 63 cases among
adults, News 6 reported.
" Like you, we are obligated to provide
a safe and secure education to
all students, " the letter said. " Universally
masking is the most effective
strategy we have, besides vaccination,
to meet this obligation. "
Separately, the Texas Education
Agency said Aug. 19 it would not
enforce a state ban as several courts
consider the issue. The same day, the
state's supreme court refused to void
a preliminary lower court order that
allows local leaders to impose mask
requirements. Dozens of Texas districts
will now require masks.
And after Arkansas lawmakers
failed to reverse a ban on mask mandates
in a special legislative session
last month, a judge there temporarily
paused enforcement of the law
while he considers a lawsuit by parents
who want universal masking in
public schools.
Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - September 1, 2021

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