DES MOINES, Iowa – Des Moines Public Schools is holding an open meeting tonight after meeting privately with legal advisors for three hours Wednesday night
A judge denied the district’s request to temporarily block the state requirement for in-person classes.
The state has clarified that students can get credit for the online classes the district is currently conducting, and can graduate at the end of the year.
But the district could lose accreditation and state funding if it doesn’t complete 180 days of instruction.
The state requires half of all classes to be in-person unless COVID-19 rates and absenteeism reach a certain threshold, which Des Moines schools do not.
The state requirement is for the school district’s county to have a 15 percent COVID-19 positivity rate over 14 days, and for schools to have 10 percent absenteeism.Polk County currently has 8.6 percent positivity rate.
The judge’s Tuesday ruling against the Des Moines district does not affect its lawsuit against the state, which will still go to trial.
The public can tune-in on YouTube to the school board’s virtual session Thursday at 5:45 p.m.