Biden Administration Threatens To Revoke Arizona Stimulus Funds Used For Anti-Mask Mandate Programs At Schools

Topline

The Treasury Department is threatening to revoke more than $170 million in federal stimulus money and withhold future funds from Arizona, it informed the state Friday, after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey used the money to establish programs that oppose school mask mandates and Covid-19 mitigation measures.

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at a news conference on Dec. 2, 2020, in Phoenix.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

Arizona set up a $163 million grant program that awards money to public and charter schools using federal stimulus funds—but will only dole out the money if the schools are open for in-person learning and do not have mask mandates in place.

It also established a $10 million program that gives money to children and their families whose schools are closed for in-person learning or require masks, which can be used on education-related expenses like tuition for attending a different school.

The Treasury Department wrote in a letter Friday those policies are “ineligible uses” of the federal money—which was awarded to help states “mitigate” pandemic-related costs—because they “undermine efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.”

The Biden administration gave Arizona 60 days to redirect its funds or redesign the grant programs, or else it will revoke the state’s funding used for those programs and potentially withhold future funding until the issue is addressed.

The Treasury Department previously warned Arizona in October to fix its policies or risk losing funding, but noted the state “did not describe any plans” to change its programs in its response.

Ducey’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment, but wrote in a previous letter to the Treasury Department the state believes its programs are justifiable and the use of federal funds is appropriate.

Big Number

$4.2 billion. That’s the total amount Arizona was awarded as part of Congress’ $1.9 trillion relief package, according to the New York Times, but the federal government has so far only distributed $2.1 billion of that state funding.

Surprising Fact

The Arizona Supreme Court actually struck down the state’s ban on school mask mandates in early November, ruling the measure and other policies were unlawfully included in the state’s budget legislation. That appears not to have stopped the state from still withholding funds from schools that have mask mandates, however, as the state wrote in a letter to the Treasury Department sent a few days after the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that it would not stop withholding funds from schools that require face coverings.

Key Background

Arizona is one of several states where GOP governors once opposed to the Democrat-led American Rescue Plan have since embraced the federal stimulus funds it’s provided. The New York Times notes other Republican-led states have also considered using money for contentious uses like immigration measures and tax cuts, though none have yet attracted the Treasury Department’s attention or been as controversial as Arizona’s measures. The threat to revoke funding marks the Biden administration’s latest step opposing state restrictions or bans on school mask mandates, which were imposed in 10 states though many have since been blocked in court. The Department of Education has also opened civil rights investigations into states banning mask mandates and established a grant program that gave money to Florida schools that had state funding withheld because they imposed mask mandates.

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Key Facts

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Surprising Fact

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