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Who We Are »
Betsy Combier

Help Us to Continue to Help Others »
Email: betsy.combier@gmail.com

 
The E-Accountability Foundation announces the

'A for Accountability' Award

to those who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. They ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up. These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions. The winners of our "A" work to expose wrong-doing not for themselves, but for others - total strangers - for the "Greater Good"of the community and, by their actions, exemplify courage and self-less passion. They are parent advocates. We salute you.

Winners of the "A":

Johnnie Mae Allen
David Possner
Dee Alpert
Aaron Carr
Harris Lirtzman
Hipolito Colon
Larry Fisher
The Giraffe Project and Giraffe Heroes' Program
Jimmy Kilpatrick and George Scott
Zach Kopplin
Matthew LaClair
Wangari Maathai
Erich Martel
Steve Orel, in memoriam, Interversity, and The World of Opportunity
Marla Ruzicka, in Memoriam
Nancy Swan
Bob Witanek
Peyton Wolcott
[ More Details » ]
 
U.S. Education Department Investigates Five States' Mask Mandate Bans
The U.S. Department of Education sent a warning to five states on Monday that their statewide bans on mask mandates, including in schools, could violate students' civil rights. Suzanne B. Goldberg, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, sent letters to state education leaders in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, informing them that the department's Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether their bans are discriminatory.
          
   Nashville, Tenn., kindergarten teacher Amber Updegrove leads her class in a lesson this month. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into Tennessee's requirement that schools allow families to opt out of mask mandates. John Partipilo/AP   
Education Dept. Announces Civil Rights Investigations Into 5 States' Mask Mandate Bans
Updated August 30, 2021
Heard on Morning Edition, https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-school-live-updates/2021/08/30/1032520335/education-department-civil-rights-investigations-mask-mandates

The U.S. Department of Education sent a warning to five states on Monday that their statewide bans on mask mandates, including in schools, could violate students' civil rights. Suzanne B. Goldberg, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, sent letters to state education leaders in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, informing them that the department's Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether their bans are discriminatory.

At the center of the department's concerns, according to Monday's letters, are students with disabilities who may be at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Goldberg's letters say these investigations will focus on whether the state bans are discriminatory by preventing students with disabilities from safely returning to in-person education.

Federal law "guarantees qualified students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education in elementary and secondary school," Goldberg wrote in each of the letters. "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."

If students with disabilities do not feel safe returning to school because their classmates cannot be required to wear masks, the department's argument goes, then these bans could be considered discriminatory and violate either Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and/or Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

The announcement comes after President Biden issued a memorandum on Aug. 18 in which he directed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to ensure that "Governors and other officials are giving students the opportunity to participate and remain in safe full-time, in-person learning without compromising their health or the health of their families or communities."

If the Education Department ultimately finds that these mask mandate bans do run afoul of federal civil rights law, it could threaten to withhold federal funding, though, on a recent appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Cardona conceded that this was less than ideal.

"When we talk about withholding funds, those who suffer are the students," Cardona said. "Withholding funds doesn't usually work. If anything, it adds insult to injury to these students who are trying to get into the classroom."

The department says it is not at this time investigating other states with similar bans — including Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Arizona — because those bans are not currently being enforced, due to either court orders or other actions.

In a statement to NPR, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, an elected Republican, said she supports the investigation:

"Regrettably, we are not surprised by this civil rights investigation spurred by passage of a state law prohibiting mask requirements in Oklahoma public schools. 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. We will fully cooperate with USDE."

In short, Hofmeister told NPR: "I want the law to be stricken."

Utah's state superintendent of public instruction, Sydnee Dickson, said in a statement: "While we appreciate [the Office for Civil Rights'] efforts to protect children, specifically students with disabilities, we think they have unfairly defined Utah as a state where mask mandates cannot occur. State law places these decisions at the local level with local health departments and locally elected officials. ... We look forward to working with OCR to clarify Utah's position on the issue."

 
© 2003 The E-Accountability Foundation