Arizona risks relief funds over anti-mask rules

Federal government may recoup money over programs seen as discouraging face coverings in school.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is threatening to recoup COVID-19 relief funds sent to Arizona over state provisions that it says discourage families and school districts from following federal guidance recommending face coverings in schools.

At issue are two state programs that are meant to help schools and students but that direct funding away from jurisdictions with mask requirements.

Arizona’s Education Plus-Up Grant Program provides $163 million in funding to schools, but districts that require face coverings are ineligible. Its COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit Program provides for up to $7,000 for parents if their child’s school requires masks or quarantines after exposure. It lets parents use the money for private school tuition or other education costs; its design mirrors the state’s school voucher program.

The program has had few takers, despite GOP Gov. Doug Ducey’s office touting it as a response to an outcry from parents. As of last week, 85 students were getting the vouchers, and less than $600,000 of the $10 million had been allocated.

Also last week, the governor created a third program that is likely to run afoul of Treasury Department spending rules. It is another $10-million school voucher program for parents whose children’s schools close for even one day after Jan. 2 due to COVID-19.

In a Friday letter, the Treasury Department warned that the state has 60 days to remove the anti-masking provisions before the federal government moves to recover the relief money, and it threatened to withhold the next tranche of aid as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal mask-wearing in school settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“By discouraging families and school districts from following this guidance, the conditions referenced above undermine efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19,” the Treasury Department wrote. “Accordingly, these school programs as currently structured are ineligible uses” of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Ducey’s chief of staff on Friday denied the Biden administration’s claims.

“We think that this program is aboveboard,” Daniel Ruiz said. “We’re going to defend that program and any other future program that is designed to get kids caught back up and mitigate the learning loss” that has taken place over the last year, he said.

Arizona has already received about half of the $4.2 billion awarded to the state under the 2021 coronavirus relief bill.