The Biden administration could launch civil-rights investigations into states banning mask mandates, secretary of education says

• States including Florida have tried to bar schools from imposing mask mandates.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has threatened to withhold funds from schools that require masks.
• Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a Sunday interview called education a "fundamental right."

States that bar schools from introducing mask mandates could face civil-rights investigations, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday.

"We are prepared to launch investigations with our Office for Civil Rights to ensure that all students have access to this fundamental right of education," Cardona told NBC's "Meet the Press." "And it's sad that we're talking about this now."

Coronavirus infections are surging in the US with the rise of the highly transmissible Delta virus variant. The Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday that in Florida, a quarter of all cases over the past week were in people younger than 19.

On July 31, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that prohibited mask mandates in Florida schools. Earlier this month, DeSantis also threatened to withhold paychecks for school-board members in districts that impose masks.

Cardona said schools that did instate mask mandates couldn't be denied federal funds. "We have to do everything in our power to keep them safe," Cardona said of the Alachua and Broward County school districts in Florida.

The state's Board of Education threatened to withhold funds from the districts if they didn't comply with the governor's executive order.

"I spoke to the superintendents of those two communities, and I let them know that we have their back," Cardona said. "And yes, they can draw down on the funds that were promised to them so they can safely reopen schools."