Press Releases

Today, Republican Leader of the Education and Labor Committee Virginia Foxx (R-NC) gave the following statement after the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced it would investigate five states that respect parents’ choices on in-school masking:

“This is what happens when an administration gets in bed with teachers unions and left-wing special interests. It is inappropriate for the Office for Civil Rights to spend taxpayer dollars to intimidate states that are responsive to parents’ needs and balance freedom with public health. There is a laundry list of scandals in need of investigation, including the government’s role in perpetuating the student loan crisis, Chinese infiltration in schools, and some school districts’ refusal to provide students with disabilities in-person learning opportunities during the 2020-2021 school year. Instead, Biden and his cronies are using the Department of Education as a propaganda tool against states and governors that disagree with them.”

BACKGROUND: On Monday, August 30th, the Department of Education announced that it will investigate five states (Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah) that have statewide restrictions against in-school mask mandates. This comes after Secretary Cardona sent a letter to eight Republican governors threatening legal action should these mask policies remain in place. In response to this letter, Republican Leader Foxx pushed Cardona on whether he has the authority to withhold American Rescue Plan funds for states that do not require mask mandates.