Iowa must permit school districts to require masks in some cases, court rules; Iowa to appeal
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Iowa school districts must consider medically sensitive students' requests to require mask wearing of those around them, notwithstanding a state law that banned school mask mandates, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The decision by Judge Robert Pratt comes in a suit filed by several families challenging Iowa's pandemic-era law, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in May 2021, banning school districts and local governments from mandating mask wearing. The plaintiffs are parents of children with chronic health conditions or disabilities rendering them particularly at risk for complications from the coronavirus. They sued, arguing that the state was violating federal disability rights law by denying reasonable accommodations for their children.
The decision, released when COVID-19 cases have been far fewer than they had been for years, rekindles the bitter battles over mask requirements, which colored recent years. The debates over mask requirement led to contentious school board meetings, slid into local elections and resulted in the state law banning mask mandates.
Pratt had previously granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which was then partially overturned by a federal appellate court, but Des Moines Public Schools and other affected districts nonetheless largely dropped their mandates. Tuesday's ruling, nine months later, addresses the merits of the case, as well as a motion to dismiss that Reynolds and the state had filed.
A representative for the Iowa Attorney General's Office said the state had no comment Tuesday.
Late Tuesday evening, ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said the order, "ensures that students in Iowa who have disabilities that make them highly vulnerable to severe health complications from COVID-19 may request that their school requires masking as one type of reasonable accommodation when they need others around them to mask in order to attend school safely, and that the school will consider that request."
This decision means that the state can't strip accreditation and funding from Iowa schools that follow the federal civil rights laws protecting students from discrimination on the basis of a disability."
On Wednesday, Reynolds said the state would appeal the decision.
“As I’ve said all along, whether a child wears a mask to school is up to the parents, not the government,” the governor said in a statement. “I will appeal this ruling so that Iowa families have the right to decide what’s best for their children.”
Iowa argued law already permitted exceptions
The 2021 Iowa law barred mask mandates "unless the facial covering is necessary for a specific extracurricular or instructional purpose, or is required by ... any other provision of law."
In court filings, Reynolds argued the law did not actually conflict with federal disability law due to the "any other provision" clause, and further argued that the lawsuit, filed before COVID-19 vaccines were approved for school age children, was largely moot.
In the decision, Pratt found that the parents continued to have a valid case, noting that several of their children continue to receive home instruction, in many cases without the kinds of special education services they'd received at school, due to health concerns. Doctors for three of the students filed declarations describing the students' serious medical risk factors, even after being fully vaccinated, and recommending that their teachers, aides, and surrounding students be masked to ensure their safety.
"Even though circumstances have changed since this case was filed, plaintiffs have shown that at least some of their children are still at high risk for severe illness if they contract COVID-19, despite being vaccinated," Pratt wrote. "And for these high-risk children, having others around them at school wear masks is essential for their protection."
More: Iowa's pandemic progress halts as new reported cases, hospitalizations increase
Iowa 'must permit' mask mandates, judge rules
As to whether Iowa's law as written includes the carve-out needed to accommodate students' disabilities, Pratt wrote that "(Reynolds and Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo) have vigorously argued that federal law does not require mask mandates and that requiring masks is not a reasonable modification under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, such that section 280.31 does not permit school districts to impose any mask requirements."
The judge found that, given what he called the "contradiction" between the state's arguments and ongoing confusion among parents and school officials, a declaratory judgment from the court was appropriate to confirm that districts can, in fact, require masks under circumstances dictated by federal law.
"Under (the May 2021 Iowa law), a disabled student may request a reasonable accommodation that requires masks to be worn by teachers, aides, other students, and anyone else near or interacting with the disabled student to allow thedisabled student making the request to safely and readily access their school and in-person learning," Pratt ruled. "Any school district receiving such an accommodation request must consider it just as they would any other request for a reasonable modification made under the (Americans with Disabilities Act) or the Rehabilitation Act."
The order said that school districts should consider the state's "general prohibition" against mask mandates when considering whether a student's proposed accommodation is a reasonable request.
"But if ... the school district concludes that requiring masks is a reasonable modification to protect the safety of the student making the accommodation request under federal disability law, then defendants Reynolds and Lebo must permit the imposition of a mask mandate," Pratt ruled.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa will appeal ruling that school mask mandate ban must yield to ADA
