VOA慢速英语2021--美国开始调查学校口罩禁令

US Opens Investigation¹ into School Mask Bans

American states that ban face coverings in schools may be discriminating² against students with disabilities, U.S. Department of Education officials say.

The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has opened investigations³ into five states that ban face coverings, or masks. The states are Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

Suzanne Goldberg is the department's assistant secretary for civil rights. She informed the states of the investigation, saying that they could be in violation⁴ of the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA. The 1990 law bans discrimination against people with disabilities and requires that children with disabilities receive a fair education.

Goldberg said in a letter that the "investigation will focus on whether ... students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are prevented from safely returning to in-person education, in violation of Federal law."

Uneven⁵ requirements among the states

The administration of President Joe Biden has said it would fight back against efforts by Republican state lawmakers to prevent mask mandates⁸ in schools. Those against the requirements say it is a matter of personal freedom. They argue that it should be up to parents and individuals to decide.

In the state of Tennessee, Republican Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order on August 16 letting parents "opt⁹ out" of any requirement that children wear masks in school. Two legal actions have since been filed against the order including one saying that it violates the ADA.

Four other states, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida and Texas, have also passed laws or signed executive orders banning mask mandates in schools. But the states are not currently under investigation because court orders have blocked the bans.

In Florida, a court ruled on August 27 that school systems may go against the governor's order and require students to wear masks. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said that wearing masks should be up to parents, and not the government. He has also suggested that wearing masks hurts kids' ability to learn and communicate. The Florida Department of Education said they would appeal the court's ruling.

Sara Lee is a mother of two 10-year-old children attending school in Florida's Leon County. She said her children do not mind wearing masks at all.

"In fact, I pick them up and I'm like, ‘You can take your mask off now,' " Lee said.

A question of health or politics

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. At a briefing on COVID-19 on July 27, she told reporters, "Children should return to full-time¹⁰ in-person learning in the fall with proper prevention strategy in place."

Walensky recommended that all students, teachers, workers and visitors wear a mask in schools. The recommendation is in effect for both unvaccinated and vaccinated¹¹ people.

A recent CDC study says since the health agency updated its guidelines on mask-wearing, parents have gotten more worried about schools opening up in person. Before July 27, 58 percent of parents asked said they wanted their children attending school in person full time. But after the new guidance, that number fell to 43 percent.

Meanwhile, COVID infections among children have increased by five times over the past month, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children under 12 are currently unable to get COVID vaccinations¹². And children with certain disabilities and health problems are at greater risk of severe coronavirus infection and death.

Vaccine¹³ makers⁶ Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna say they are developing a vaccine safe for children aged¹⁴ 5 to 11.

A school system in Texas closed recently until after the Labor¹⁵ Day holiday when two of its teachers died of COVID-19.

Robin¹⁶ Lake is the director of the Center for Reinventing Public Education. The organization has researched schools' reopening plans and coronavirus prevention policies.

"Our school systems should have had strong safety and quarantine plans in place months ago," Lake said on Twitter. "Anyone watching the science should have known fall reopening was going to be very difficult."

Miguel Cardona is the U.S. Secretary of Education. He said in a statement that it is "simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve."

Words in This Story

disability — n. a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities

heighten — v. to increase the amount, degree, or extent of (something)

mandate⁷ — n. an official order to do something

opt — v. to choose one thing instead of another

quarantine — n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

oath — n. a formal and serious promise to tell the truth or to do something

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

9 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

12 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

14 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。