Iowa City schools end mask requirement

IOWA CITY — Students are no longer required to wear a mask in the Iowa City Community School District as long as transmission rates of the coronavirus remain low in the area.

The school board held a special meeting Tuesday where they voted to end the mask requirement to align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Face masks will no longer be required to be worn in school buildings, on campuses or on school buses.

District officials continue to encourage indoor mask use for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to our schools, regardless of vaccination status.

The CDC is no longer recommending face coverings be worn indoors or in school settings in communities with low or medium transmission rates of COVID-19. The CDC is recommending continued mask use in areas categorized as having high transmission rates of the virus.

Johnson County is currently in the “medium” transmission rate category. The school board may revisit the decision to end the district’s mask mandate if transmission rates of the virus increase, according to a district news release.

District officials are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 if eligible and to stay home if sick.

Cedar Rapids ends masks on buses

The Cedar Rapids Community School District also ended its mask requirement for school buses Tuesday to align with updated CDC guidance.

The district also decreased its isolation period for students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms from 10 days to five days, effective Tuesday.

PK-12 students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19 may return to school on day six if fever-free for 24 hours without fever reducing medicine and symptoms improving, according to a district newsletter.

Students who tested positive or had symptoms will be required to wear a mask at school through day 10. Students who choose not to wear a mask, for any reason, will continue to isolate themselves at home for the full 10-day period.

The district removed its mask requirement Jan. 26, after a federal appeals panel ruled that an earlier injunction against a state law issued by district judge was too broad.

The appeals panel said the injunction should not have been statewide, but instead should be “tailored” to 10 districts named in a lawsuit. Moreover, the panel ruled that a mask mandate is a “reasonable accommodation” under federal law that could apply to schools elsewhere in the state if the school is attended by students whose disabilities make them more vulnerable to severe illness if they get COVID-19.

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