Federal authorities revealed Monday that the Education Department has launched probes for five states where limitations on universal mask regulations in schools may violate civil rights statutes safeguarding students with disabilities.

The department's civil rights chief wrote to state education officials in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah, informing them that the department's Office for Civil Rights would investigate whether the prohibitions are trying to restrict access for students who are protected from discrimination based on their disabilities under federal law and are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.

The investigations fulfill the Biden administration's vow to utilize the federal government's clout — including civil rights investigations and legal proceedings — to interfere in states where governors and other politicians have spoken out against school-mask regulations. Regardless of vaccination status, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended everybody in schools wear a mask.

Because of litigation or other state action, the agency said it has not launched investigations in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, or Arizona because their restrictions on universal indoor masking are not being implemented in schools.

While the federal government's attempts to safeguard children are commendable, Utah's superintendent of public instruction, Sydnee Dickson, said in a statement on Monday that she believes “they have unfairly defined Utah as a state where mask mandates cannot occur.”

She said that the state legislation left it up to local officials to make the choice and that numerous counties had already done so. She mentioned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at a Utah district in March as an example of how primary schools were reopened without large outbreaks.

Officials from Oklahoma and South Carolina's education departments have said that they reject mask regulations in their states.