DES MOINES, Iowa -- School districts in Iowa can continue requiring face masks after a federal judge grants a preliminary injunction against a state law banning school mask mandates.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt's restraining order issued last month blocking the state law was set to expire Monday.
Pratt's preliminary injunction issued Friday will now block the law for the duration of a lawsuit brought by parents who say the school face mask ban puts their kids at risk for COVID-19 exposure.
Dozens of Iowa school districts issued face mask mandates after the federal restraining order against the state law came down.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds' office on Friday said Pratt's decision has been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Her office says the case will be assigned to a three-judge panel in the coming days.