The Education Department says it’s investigating five Republican-led states with universal mask bans, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. The department’s office for civil rights sent letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Those states have barred schools from requiring masks among students and staff, a move that the department says could prevent some students from safely attending school. It marks a sharp escalation in the Biden administration’s battle with Republican states that say wearing masks should be a personal choice.
By COLLIN BINKLEY
Posted inArticle, Politics
New Trump rule ties college funding to speech, faith rights
The Trump administration is moving forward with a policy that expands protections for religious groups on college campuses and threatens to cut federal education funding to colleges that violate free speech rules. The rule issued Wednesday by the Education Department cements much of what President Donald Trump outlined in a March 2019 executive order demanding wider speech protections at U.S. colleges. In taking up the issue, Trump highlighted concerns from conservatives who complained that their voices had been suppressed on university campuses. The new policy allows the Education Department to suspend or terminate grants to public universities found in court to have violated the First Amendment.
Posted inArticle, Business, Politics
Senate passes rebuke of DeVos over student loan forgiveness
The Senate on Wednesday gave final congressional approval to a measure overturning Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ rules making it harder for students to get loans erased after being misled by for-profit colleges. The measure passed with a 53-42 vote and stands as a rare rebuke of DeVos by the Republican-controlled Senate. The House approved the measure in January, and the White House has threatened a veto. The Education Department quickly condemned the measure, calling DeVos’ rule an improvement over a “poorly written Obama-era regulation.”
