Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

The federal government is investigating the Texas Education Agency after deeming that its guidance prohibiting mask mandates in schools last week may be “preventing school districts in the state from considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities.”

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched the investigation on Tuesday, just days after the TEA quietly updated its public health guidance. On Friday, the state agency said that school districts once again can’t require face coverings, citing that courts are not blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local mask mandates.

In a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, federal officials said the investigation will focus on whether or not students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are prevented from safely returning to in-person education, which would violate federal law, wrote Suzanne B. Goldberg, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

Goldberg wrote that her office is worried that Texas’ mask policy does not allow for “an equal educational opportunity to students with disabilities who are at heightened risk of severe illness from COVID-19.”

The TEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Education Department has launched similar investigations in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. It had not done so in Texas because the TEA was previously not enforcing the governor’s order while there was ongoing litigation.

If you appreciate reporting like this, you need to be at the all-virtual 2021 Texas Tribune Festival happening now through Sept. 25. Join as big names from politics, public policy and the media share what’s next for Texas and beyond. Explore live and on-demand programming, including dozens of free events, at tribfest.org.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/21/texas-schools-mask-mandates-education-department/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.