(Des Moines, IA) -- Students in Des Moines will be required to wear a face mask in schools as Des Moines Public Schools will re-enact a face mask requirement starting Wednesday. It's the first school district in the state to enact the requirement.
A federal judge is blocking an Iowa state law that bans school districts from enacting their own face mask mandates. In his ruling Monday, Judge Robert Pratt says the law increases the risk of young children with health conditions contracting COVID-19. Pratt also says he agrees with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics that mask wearing in schools can reduce spread of COVID-19.Several Iowa parents, a group advocating for the rights of those with intellectual disabilities, and the ACLU of Iowa filed a suit against the state. Governor Kim Reynolds says the judge "unilaterally overturned a state law and ignored the decision by our elected legislature." She says the state will appeal the ruling.
Waukee, Ames, Johnston, West Des Moines, and Van Meter community school districts say they're waiting for the legal process to play out before putting a mask requirement into place.