DES MOINES, Iowa - A group called Drive for Lives Iowa is staging a driving protest Friday afternoon in Des Moines.
The group says its composed of Iowa Educators with a calling to protect and defend students, families, and communities.
They're protesting Governor Kim Reynolds' back-to-school proclamation that requires schools to start up with 50 percent in-person classes.
The group plans to follow a lead patrol car starting at 1 o'clock from East High School on a route that ends on Grand Avenue.
Drive for Lives Iowa is active on social media. An Iowa City based group sharing the same logo is driving to the state capitol in Des Moines Friday.
The groups stated goal are below
- 1. We support school districts who tirelessly worked to develop Return to Learn plans drawing from the advice of public health experts, with little guidance from Governor Reynolds and other state agencies. We support the School Boards who have taken strong stands for safety of students and staff.
- 2. We call for the July 17 Governor’s Proclamation, which mandates face-to-face learning during our current pandemic, to be rescinded immediately. As Iowa communities are unique from each other and have experienced Covid-19 in different ways, local boards and leaders need to make key evidence-based decisions on the structure of schools and learning.
- 3. We call for school districts yet to develop safe plans for a return to learning to collaborate with local public health officials based on current Covid-19 data and trends, with clear benchmarks to be met before in-person learning can begin.
- 4. We call for advocacy. Concerned students, parents, teachers, district leaders, public health experts, local elected officials, and members of the state legislature please make your voices heard and help us work together to protect our students and their learning communities