U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, criticizing the top education official for his “misguided” approach to school mask mandates.
The letter from Biggs follows an announcement from the Department of Education of an investigation into whether state bans on mask mandates qualify as discrimination against kids with disabilities.
The investigation from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will target five, GOP-led states: Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
“Your decision to weaponize the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to target states that have chosen to ban school mask mandates is misguided and an improper use of federal resources. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights must not be used as a political weapon to single out states that have enacted policies with which the Biden administration disagrees,” Biggs wrote in his letter.
Across the country, students’ learning suffered throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic, largely due to remote learning.
Biggs warned the Biden administration that any attempt to interfere with the return to in-person learning “will not be tolerated” and is “inappropriate.”
Furthermore, in a statement to Breitbart News, Biggs accused Cardona of weaponizing the agency against states that are “following the science” on mask mandates.
“The purpose of the Office of Civil Rights is to ensure equal access to education, yet Secretary Cardona is determined to use the office to attack states that are following the science in how they protect our children. The Biden administration will stop at nothing to impose its dictatorial agenda on the American people and has reached a new low in denigrating the purpose of the Office of Civil Rights,” Biggs told Breitbart.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].