Ban on mandates draws inquiry
US to see if state’s policy affects disabled kids
Oklahoma is one of five Republicanled states facing a federal civil rights investigation into its ban on mask mandates in public schools.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister on Monday notifying her the federal agency’s Office of Civil Rights will investigate whether the Oklahoma law discriminates against students with disabilities.
Hofmeister said the state Education Department will cooperate fully.
“Regrettably, we are not surprised
“We are eager to partner with Oklahoma on any efforts to further our shared goals of protecting the health and safety of students and educators.” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
by this civil rights investigation spurred by passage of a state law prohibiting mask requirements in Oklahoma public schools,” she said in a statement. “That law, Senate Bill 658, is preventing schools from fulfilling their legal duty to protect and provide all students the opportunity to learn more safely in-person.”
Iowa, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah also received notice their laws blocking school mask mandates could amount to a civil rights violation.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Kevin Stitt said the Biden administration’s priorities are misplaced.
“Until every American citizen is safely out of Afghanistan, President Biden shouldn’t spend a single second harassing states like Oklahoma for protecting parents’ rights to make health decisions for their kids,” she said in a statement.
Some children, as a result of their disability, are at a heightened risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Education letter states.
Investigators will focus on whether Oklahoma law prevents these students from safely returning to in-person learning.
SB 658 blocks all public schools in Oklahoma from requiring masks unless the governor issues a state of emergency for their area — a measure Stitt said he will not take.
The law also prohibits schools and universities from mandating vaccinations and masks for unvaccinated individuals.
The federal agency said it’s concerned the law might prevent schools from providing an equal opportunity for an in-person education to students with disabilities who are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness.
All public schools that receive federal funds cannot discriminate against students on the basis of disability.
If the U.S. Department of Education determines a civil rights violation has occurred, it could give the state terms of compliance that must be followed by a specified date.
If Oklahoma doesn’t comply, the agency could take the rare measure of withdrawing federal funding from the state’s schools. It also could refer the case to the U.S. Department of Justice for civil court action.
The state has the opportunity for a voluntary resolution before the investigation is complete, according to the letter.
Education secretary warned Oklahoma last week
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona notified Hofmeister and Stitt last week that Oklahoma could be violating federal law by preventing schools from enacting mask mandates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in K-12 schools.
The American Rescue Plan Act, which provided $1.5 billion to Oklahoma schools, required districts to adopt a plan for a safe reopening to access federal aid funds, Cardona wrote.
These reopening plans must follow CDC guidance, Cardona said while indicating Oklahoma’s access to federal funds could be at risk.
“We are eager to partner with Oklahoma on any efforts to further our shared goals of protecting the health and safety of students and educators,” Cardona wrote. “In addition, the Department will continue to closely review and monitor whether Oklahoma is meeting all of its Federal fiscal requirements.”
Some Oklahoma districts skirted SB 658 by implementing mask requirements with the option for families to opt out.
The governor was supportive of these districts, which include Oklahoma City Public Schools and Santa Fe South Charter Schools.
However, Stitt and Attorney General John O’Connor were critical of Hulbert Public Schools, a small eastern Oklahoma district that required masks without an apparent opt-out policy.
Stitt said the state would “push back” against federal pressure for universal masking.
“We don’t need Washington, D.C., bureaucrats telling us how we should live our lives in the state of Oklahoma,” Stitt told The Oklahoman on Friday.
Despite urging from health experts to allow school mask mandates, the governor said parents should have the choice of whether to send their children to school with masks.
Hofmeister has openly opposed SB 658.
“I want to see it stricken in court so schools can fulfill their legal duty to protect and provide all students an opportunity to learn more safely in-person,” she wrote in a Twitter post Sunday evening.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association and a group of parents have filed a lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court to overturn the law. A district judge is scheduled to hear arguments on the case at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Oklahoma had more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases reported in school-age children from Aug. 15-21, which was the second week of school in many Oklahoma City-area districts.
That makes up about 17% of cases across all age groups in that same period, according to the latest data from the state Health Department.
Oklahoma City eighth-grader Clarence “Tre” Johnson III died Aug. 19 from COVID-19 complications. He is among at least three school-age children in Oklahoma to die as a result of COVID-19.
Another 7,827 infections were reported Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Just over 2,000 of those cases, or 26%, were in children age 5-17.
Children with obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease or immunosuppression could face an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, according to the CDC.
“There’s nothing more important than the health and safety of our kids and giving them the chance for in-person instruction,” Hofmeister said in a statement last week.
“All of that is compromised when proven mitigation strategies are ignored.”
Contributing: Reporters Carmen Forman and Dana Branham
Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.