Ankeny, Iowa school board tables mask mandate decision

Ankeny Schools Board held a special session Tuesday to get additional information about Monday’s federal court order blocking a state law banning schools from wearing masks.

“This is a very early stage of this lawsuit,” said school board attorney Miriam Van Heukelem to board members.

The Board did not take any action on this matter after hearing Van Heukelem. After about 30 minutes of the public session, the board entered a closed session to consult privately with the district attorney.

U.S. District Court judge Robert Pratt issued an injunction on Monday to halt enforcement of the mask mandate ban that went into effect in May.

Governor Kim Reynolds said the state would appeal the ruling.

Ankeny’s board members said they intend to make a decision at a future meeting on whether to grant a mask mandate.

This story will be updated.

How other schools react

On Monday, shortly after Pratt issued his ruling, Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Tom Ahart said he would instruct students, staff and others to wear masks in school buildings.

Iowa City Community Schools Superintendent Matt Degner said in a statement to families and staff on Monday afternoon that the district’s school committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue and likely give a mandate.

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Cedar Rapids Community School District has already decided to reintroduce a mask mandate.

West Burlington Independent School District has a special session Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss masks in schools.

The lawsuit that brought us here

Federal plaintiffs include 11 parents of students under the age of 12 who are too young to be vaccinated and the Arc of Iowa, a disability advocacy group. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Iowa subsidiary, as well as Disability Rights Iowa, the Arc of the United States, Arnold & Porter, and the Duff Law Firm.

The defendants in the case are Governor Kim Reynolds, Director of the Department of Education Ann Lebo and 10 school districts: Ankeny, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Decorah, Denver, Des Moines, Iowa City, Johnston, Linn Mar and Waterloo.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Des Moines on September 3, argued that an Iowa law passed earlier this year banning universal masking effectively bans students with disabilities from public schools and equal access to education, what a violation of the American Disability Act and Rehabilitation Act.

Plaintiffs asked a judge to block the section of law that prohibits masking obligations in schools and instruct Iowa to allow school districts to waive masking obligations.

“It is wrong to force children out of school because they have health problems and disabilities that put them at higher risk of serious complications from COVID,” said ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen. “And it is wrong to ask parents to make their children aware of these risks just so they can go to school.”

The Iowa Mask Banning Act, which Governor Kim Reynolds signed in May, was highly controversial as students returned to the classroom amid rising COVID-19 cases caused by the more contagious Delta variant. The state is already facing another lawsuit and investigation by the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Reynolds, a Republican, stubbornly defended the law. She said she does not believe in government mandates and accused Democratic President Joe Biden of engaging in a “political battle” in response to the Education Department’s investigation.

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The decision

The U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt’s injunction does not apply to cities or counties. Local governments are still legally prohibited from granting mask mandates.

The law does not apply to the three public universities governed by the Iowa Board of Regents. Those universities – the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa – might require masks, but have chosen not to.

Pratt, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, wrote in his ruling that the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the need for public health, and the lack of an imperative state need to uphold the ban were influential in his deliberations.

“… The national public interest in enforcing the ADA in this case wins over the state’s interest in enforcing Section 280.31 of the Iowa Code,” he wrote. It is also in the public’s interest to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the havoc it wreaks in Iowa to both school-age children and their families, especially to protect disabled children. In addition, it does no harm to Defendants to mandate Section 280.31 and allow individual public school districts to revert to the way they operated prior to its adoption by leaving a universal mask mandate to their discretion. It is not a great burden on the individual school councilors to make such decisions for the children in their districts. “

What happens next?

The state appeal, once filed, would be heard by the 8th District Court of Appeals and could result in the law re-enacting.

In the meantime, the preliminary injunction blocking the law remains in effect while the case moves on to the next steps.

Stephen Gruber-Miller also contributed to this story.

Teresa Kay Albertson covers the southern suburbs of Des Moines for the Register and Indianola Record-Herald. You can reach them at talbertson@registermedia.com or 515-419-6098.