Cardona Presses Florida, Texas on Masks in Schools, Pledges Support for Defiant Districts
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State bans on local mask requirements may put students at risk as schools reopen and may interfere with districts’ efforts to create federally mandated plans to spend COVID-19 relief aid, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote to leaders in Texas and Florida Friday.
Cardona pledged support for school districts that defy their state leaders in creating their virus mitigation strategies, and he said funds from the American Rescue Plan could be used to offset state financial penalties if they do so.
“The safe return to in-person instruction requires that school districts be able to protect the health and safety of students and educators, and that families have confidence that their schools are doing everything possible to keep students healthy,” Cardona wrote in a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.
In a similar letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and state Education Commissioner Mike Morath, Cardona also flagged guidance that said Texas schools are not required to conduct contact tracing to detect and mitigate possible spread of the coronavirus.
“These State level actions against science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 appear to restrict the development of local health and safety policies and are at odds with the school district planning process” included in federal requirements for American Rescue Plan funding, Cardona wrote.
As a condition of receiving the bulk of the $122 billion in K-12 aid, the Biden administration will require schools to detail how they will incorporate recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on strategies including masks into their reopening plans.
Texas and Florida are among eight states that have prohibited local school districts from setting universal mask requirements, which the CDC has said are key to reducing the risk viral transmission within schools. As low vaccination rates have led to the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, some districts have sued over such restrictions or opted to defy them altogether.
School Mask Mandates at a Glance
This information is no longer being updated. The last data update was on May 23, 2022.
On March 29, Gov. Kemp signed the “Unmask Georgia Students Act” which allows parents to exempt their child from a school mask requirement. The law went into effect immediately.
3. Iowa
On Sept. 13, 2021, a federal judge ordered Iowa to halt enforcement of its law banning mask mandates in schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, a federal appeals panel narrowed that injunction. Iowa’s attorney general announced the state is not enforcing the ban while awaiting further action from the court. On May 16, 2022 a U.S. Court of Appeals lifted the injunction.
In Utah, local health departments can issue 30-day school mask mandates with approval from the state or county government, according to the state’s top education official.
An Arkansas judge ruled on Dec. 29, that a law signed by the governor in April that prohibited local officials, including school boards, from setting mask mandates was unconstitutional. School districts have been able to set their own mask requirements since August when the judge put the law on hold.
3. South Carolina
On Sept. 28, a federal judge suspended South Carolina from enforcing the rule that banned school districts from requiring masks for students.
On Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
2. Connecticut
On Feb. 7, Gov. Lamont announced that the school mask rule would expire Feb. 28. He signed a bill on Feb. 15 that made the expiration date official.
3. Delaware
On Feb. 7, Gov. Carney amended his emergency order to allow his state-level school mask requirement to expire March 31. On Feb. 28, he announced that masks would no longer be required effective at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
4. District of Columbia
On March 8, the department of health released updated guidelines that recommend universal masking only when community COVID-19 levels are high.
5. Illinois
On Feb. 5, a judge issued a temporary restraining order on the governor's statewide mask requirement. On Feb. 25, the state supreme court vacated that order. On the same day, the governor announced he would lift the requirement on Feb. 28.
6. Kentucky
Kentucky's school mask mandate ended in September, when the state legislature voted to limit the governor’s emergency powers.
7. Louisiana
According to a State of Emergency proclamation issued Nov. 23, which was extended on Jan. 19, students were required to wear masks in schools, but districts could opt out of the mandate if they adopted an isolation and quarantine policy consistent with the state's department of health protocols. On Feb. 16, Gov. Bel Edwards extended the order without requiring masking in schools.
On Feb. 7, health officials said the state would drop its school mask requirement no later than March 31. On Feb. 24, the Oregon Health Authority announced the requirement would lift on March 19. However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
On Feb. 17, Gov. Inslee announced the state's school mask requirement will end effective March 21. However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
NOTES In January 2022, the Missouri attorney general, Eric Schmitt, sued some school districts that required masks, citing a November ruling by a county judge that said local health orders tied to COVID-19 were illegal. (The ruling was interpreted differently by different districts.) The state’s treasurer announced he would also crack down on schools with mask mandates. In mid-March, Schmitt began dropping lawsuits against school districts that no longer required masks. On May 19, 2022 Schmitt announced new lawsuits against several districts that had reinstated mask requirements. On Feb. 23, 2022, New Hampshire’s governor announced the state was no longer recommending universal indoor masking and therefore schools have to end mask mandates, arguing they violate state education department rules. Soon after, the department advised districts that the mandates “are inconsistent with” their rules. There’s disagreement over whether districts still have the authority to require masks, but at least one district changed its policy in response. A bill that would have banned mask mandates was vetoed by Gov. Sununu in May 2022. Updated 5/23/2022 | Sources: Local media reports, Education Week reporting | Learn more here
Cardona’s letters come as the Biden administration takes an increasingly confrontational approach with state leaders over school precautions. After a year of prolonged hybrid and remote learning in many districts, the White House has stressed the importance of in-person schooling, but has cautioned that a lack of safety precautions may threaten schools’ ability to operate.
There are already some reports of schools temporarily shifting to remote learning a week or two into the school year after large numbers of students were asked to quarantine because of possible exposure.
President Joe Biden called the leaders of the Broward County district in Florida and the Phoenix Union High School District in Arizona Saturday after their school boards defied their states by enacting mask requirements.
On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court blocked lower court decisions that had allowed some local governments to set mask requirements in response to a petition from Abbott.
“The path forward relies on personal responsibility, not government mandates,” Abbott said.
DeSantis, considered a possible 2024 presidential opponent for Biden, has threatened to withhold state funding or administrators’ salaries for school districts that defy him on masks.
Cardona pressed both state leaders to act quickly to administer relief funds. He said federal officials would work directly with local leaders if necessary.
“The Department stands with these dedicated educators who are working to safely reopen schools and maintain safe in-person instruction,” he wrote.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump attends a reception for Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. In a letter Friday, McMahon told state leaders on March 28 that their time to spend remaining COVID relief funds would end that same day.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. McMahon said that the U.S. Department of Education would make a "revitalized effort" to pursue federal student privacy law violations for parents' rights, asserting that school "gender plans" that aren't available to parents violate the federal law.
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