The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Vermont’s Agency of Education over claims that state officials overruled school districts’ mask mandates — and violated students’ rights by doing so.
The investigation is focused on “whether the AOE limited school districts’ ability to make individualized determinations that allow for the mandatory masking of students and staff as a reasonable modification,” according to a letter from the federal Department of Education to the Vermont Agency of Education, “thereby discriminating against students with disabilities who are at an elevated risk of severe illness from COVID-19 by denying them an equal educational opportunity to access in-person learning, in violation of (federal law).”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights launched the probe in April of this year. The federal agency opens investigations in response to complaints alleging discrimination in educational settings. It’s not clear who filed the initial complaint, nor when it was filed.
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