Education Secretary Cardona and President Biden should be ashamed for threatening states with mask bans

Secretary Cardona and President Biden should be ashamed. Using @usedgov as a weapon against states, like Utah, that have had some of the best education results during the pandemic is as wrong as it is low. https://t.co/VQnwVrSKIK

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) August 19, 2021

Salt Lake City's Fox 13 reports, "The U.S. Department of Education is warning Utah it could face a federal investigation for laws the legislature passed severely restricting masks in schools."

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote, "Utah's actions to block school districts from voluntarily adopting science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 that are aligned with the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts these goals at risk and may infringe upon a school district’s authority to adopt policies to protect students and educators as they develop their safe return to in-person instruction plans required by Federal law."

Cardona also warned that other states "that have imposed mask bans could face civil rights investigations, arguing that they could discriminate against students and educators." Some of those states include Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"Possible sanctions for any violation could include pulling millions in federal funds from the state," Fox 13 notes.