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School responses in Iowa to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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Responses by state

As students returned to school for the 2021-2022 school year, states set a variety of policies on education and the COVID-19 pandemic, including how schools should open to in-person instruction and whether students and staff would be required to wear masks. By the end of the 2020-2021 school year, about 66% of students nationwide were in states that left closure decisions to schools or districts, 33% were in states with state-ordered in-person instruction, and 1% were in states with state-ordered regional school closures.[1][2] All 50 states closed schools to in-person instruction at some point during the 2019-2020 school year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This article summarizes responses to the coronavirus in Iowa schools in the academic years ending in 2020, 2021, and 2022. You will find:


Ballotpedia’s coverage of COVID-19 includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and how those responses are influencing election rules and operations, political campaigns, the economy, schools, and more.

This page is updated monthly, but our email is always open. We encourage you to share updates from local officials, policymakers, and campaigns in your community at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Timeline by school year

Below is a list of major events involving schools in Iowa during the coronavirus pandemic between 2019 and 2022, including school closings and openings, mask requirements, and the release of statewide operating guidance. Know of something we missed? Click here to email us and let us know.

2021-2022 school year

  • May 16, 2022: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted an injunction on the state's school mask requirement ban.[3]
  • Jan. 25, 2022: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld and narrowed a lower court's injunction against an Iowa law banning mask mandates in schools. The court ruled that the injunction only applied to schools where students with disabilities who need mask accommodations are in attendance.[4]
  • Oct. 8, 2021: U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt granted a preliminary injunction against an Iowa law banning mask mandates in schools. Pratt’s ruling allowed the approximately 20 districts in the state with mask mandates to keep them. The state announced it will appeal the decision.[5]
  • Sept. 13, 2021: U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa Judge Robert Pratt temporarily blocked a law prohibiting schools from enforcing mask requirements. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said she planned to appeal the decision.[6]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported three in-person schooling disruptions in Iowa.[7][8]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported all schools were in-person in Iowa .[9][10]
  • February 15, 2021: Iowa schools were required to offer full-time in-person instruction. Legislation Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed on Jan. 29 required schools to open but also allowed parents to request a hybrid or all remote option for their children. Additionally, schools could request a waiver from the requirement to provide in-person instruction from the state Department of Education based on factors such as the number of teachers quarantining because of the virus. The bill passed the state House and Senate with the support of all Republicans and one Democrat.[11]
  • January 29, 2021: Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill requiring school districts to provide students in-person instruction five days a week. Under the law, parents could still request a hybrid or all remote option for their children, and schools could request a waiver from the Department of Education based on factors such as the number of teachers quarantining because of the virus. The bill, which passed the state House and Senate with the support of all Republicans and one Democrat, set a Feb. 15 deadline for schools to offer full-time in-person instruction.[12]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported about half of schools were in-person in Iowa .[13][14]
  • July 30, 2020: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) set requirements for public schools to seek a state waiver allowing them to provide online-only education. A school needed at least a 15% positive test rate in its county and a 10% absentee rate among students. Schools in counties with a 20% or higher positive test rate did not need to meet the absentee rate requirement. The waiver would have allowed a school to operate fully online for two weeks before re-applying for the waiver.[15]
  • July 17, 2020: Reynolds ordered that students spend at least half of their schooling in-person. She said that districts could seek waivers to the requirement from the state Department of Education. Des Moines, the state’s largest district, had previously announced one day of in-person instruction for students each week.[16]
  • June 25, 2020: The Iowa Department of Education announced that schools would be allowed to reopen beginning July 1. Officials announced that there would be no requirement for students or staff to wear face coverings, undergo health checks, or social distance.[17]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 17, 2020: Reynolds closed schools for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were closed through April 30.[18]
  • April 2, 2020: Reynolds ordered all schools in the state to close through April 30. Previously, her office recommended schools close until April 13.[19]
  • March 15, 2020: Reynolds recommended that schools across the state close for four weeks. Individual districts had authority to make decisions based on the recommendation.[20]

Mask and vaccine requirements in the 2021-2022 school year

Mask requirements in schools

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

As of August 1, 2022, no states had school mask requirements in effect. Forty-two states left mask requirements in schools up to local authorities. Seven states banned school mask requirements.

The table below shows statewide school mask requirement laws and orders in states with school mask requirements or school mask requirement bans in place at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Mask requirement orders
State Ban or requirement? Type of order Date lifted or altered
Arizona Ban Legislative action N/A
Arkansas Ban Legislative action Sept. 30, 2021 - Suspended by court action
California Requirement California Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Connecticut Requirement Executive order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Delaware Requirement Executive order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Florida Ban Executive order N/A[21]
Georgia Ban Legislative action N/A
Hawaii Requirement Executive order Aug. 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Illinois Requirement Illinois Department of Public Health order Feb. 4, 2022 - Suspended by court action[22]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[23]
Kentucky Requirement Kentucky Board of Education order Sept. 9, 2021 - Suspended by state law
Louisiana Requirement Executive order Feb. 16, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[24]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[25]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[26]
Nevada Requirement Executive order Feb. 10, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Jersey Requirement Executive order March 7, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Mexico Requirement New Mexico Public Education Department order Feb. 17, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New York Requirement Executive order March 3, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Oklahoma Ban Executive order N/A
Oregon Requirement Oregon Health Authority and Department of Education order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Pennsylvania Requirement Pennsylvania Department of Health order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Rhode Island Requirement Executive order March 4, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
South Carolina Ban Legislative action Sept. 28, 2021 - Temporarily suspended by court action
Tennessee Ban Executive order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Texas Ban Executive order N/A[27]
Utah Ban Legislative action N/A
Virginia Ban Legislative action N/A
Washington Requirement Washington State Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action

School mask requirements over time

School mask bans over time


Teacher and school employee vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

Seven states had issued a statewide requirement for K-12 teachers and staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or receive regular coronavirus testing during the 2021-2022 school year. The table below shows teacher and staff vaccine requirement laws and orders in states that issued such policies during the 2021-2022 school year.

Vaccine requirement orders
State Testing instead of vaccination allowed? Type of order Date effective
California Yes California Department of Public Health order Oct. 15, 2021
Connecticut No Executive order Sept. 27, 2021
Delaware Yes Executive order Nov. 1, 2021
Illinois Yes Executive order Issued: Sept. 19, 2021
Suspended by court action on Feb. 4, 2022
New Jersey Yes Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
New York Yes Executive order Sept. 19, 2021
Oregon No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
Washington No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021


Student vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

On Oct. 1, 2021, California was the first state to announce a vaccine requirement for eligible students. Louisiana also announced a vaccine requirement for eligible students on Dec. 14, but then announced the state would be removing the coronavirus vaccine from the list of required immunizations in schools on May 18, 2022.

School reopenings and closures (2020-2021 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year

Initial school year operating plan

See also: Documenting America's Path to Recovery: July 30, 2020

Iowa released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on June 29, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 30. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

The Iowa Department of Education (IDE) released reopening guidance on June 25. On June 29, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed Senate File 2310, which outlines educational requirements for the 2020-2021 school year. IDE released three additional guidance documents in response to Senate File 2310 in July. A list of all released guidance is available here. All schools across the state were allowed to reopen beginning July 1.

On March 15, Reynolds recommended that public schools close for four weeks, but left the decision up to individual districts. On April 2, Reynolds ordered all schools to close through April 30 before extending the closure for the rest of the school year on April 17.

Iowa does not have a statewide date for public schools to reopen. According to EdWeek, public schools in Iowa must start no later than Aug. 24, with the exact date varying by district. On July 27, Reynolds ordered that students spend at least half of their schooling in-person.

Context

Iowa is a Republican trifecta. The governor is a Republican, and Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The state has been a Republican trifecta since 2017.

The following tables show public education statistics in Iowa, including a rank comparing it to the other 49 states. Rank one is the highest number of each figure, rank 50 is the lowest. All data comes from the Common Core of Data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Iowa school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $13,357 23
Number of students (18-19) 506,310 31
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 35,808 30
Number of public schools (18-19) 1,318 27
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 13.6 38
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 40.9% 39


Iowa school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $6,463,514,000 29
Federal revenue percent 7.4% 37
State revenue percent 53.5% 20
Local revenue percent 39.1% 29

Details

District reopening plans
Districts are responsible for creating their own reopening plans using a combination of IDE guidance, Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance, and gubernatorial directives. The guidance does not specify whether districts must submit plans for approval or post the plans publicly.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning
Based on Reynolds’ July 17 order, all districts and accredited nonpublic schools are required to educate students in-person at least half of the week. Districts and schools may apply for waivers for this requirement from IDE. Otherwise, the following circumstances can exempt districts and schools from this requirement:

  • A parent or guardian voluntarily selects the remote learning opportunity; or
  • [IDE], in consultation with [IDPH], approves of the temporary move to primarily remote learning for an entire building or district because of public health conditions; or
  • The school, in consultation with state and local public health, determines that individual students or classrooms must temporarily move to primarily remote learning; or
  • A school chooses to temporarily move to online learning because of severe weather instead of taking a snow day.

Mask requirements
The guidance recommends districts leave the decision to wear masks to individuals:

Requiring face coverings for all staff and students is not recommended. Allow the personal use of cloth face coverings by staff and students. Teach and reinforce the prevention of stigma associated with the use or non-use of facial coverings to support a respectful, inclusive, and supportive school environment.

Supplemental guidance released on June 30 says districts and individual schools can consider requiring masks.

In-person health recommendations and requirements
The guidance does not provide health recommendations or requirements to districts. In the June 30 FAQ, IDE provides the following reasoning:

“ Why is the Department’s guidance for reopening schools so brief? Some states have issued very long and thorough guidelines.

Many states created guidance that joined their Return-to-Learn planning with their reopening guidance. In Iowa we have purposely kept these separate because reopening guidance is based on current recommendations from IDPH intended to supplement Return-to-Learn guidelines and may change.

Reopening guidance is meant to be high-level guidance and should be used with other guidance and resources the Department has provided for schools and districts as they develop their own reopening plans, which are more comprehensive than the reopening guidance, and include considerations to ensure ongoing workplace safety, mitigation strategies, and monitoring the health and safety of teachers, staff, students and families.[28]

”

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions
The guidance does not specify whether masks are required on buses (see mask requirements section above).

The Return-to-Learn Support Document requires cleaning buses before and after transporting students.

Reactions

  • On July 1, Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek said, “The Department of Ed and the Department of Health reopening guidance was so irresponsible.”
  • On July 24, teachers held a drive-by protest at the state capitol. Organizers of the protest called for “Governor Reynolds to rescind her July 17 proclamation, allowing local school leaders to determine the safest return-to-learn models for their communities; school leaders to make science-based decisions that protect the health of students and staff in their return to school; and school leaders to make educational decisions that uphold best practices for teaching and learning.”

Map of school closures

The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year.

As of July 8, 2021, the status of school closures and reopenings was as follows:

  • Two states (Delaware, Hawaii) and Washington, D.C. had state-ordered regional school closures, required closures for certain grade levels, or allowed hybrid instruction only.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 410,896 students (0.81% of students nationwide)
  • Thirteen states had state-ordered in-person instruction.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 15,697,460 students (30.96% of students nationwide)
  • One state (Arizona) had state-ordered in-person instruction for certain grades.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 1,152,586 students (2.27% of students nationwide)
  • Thirty-four states left decisions to schools or districts.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 33,449,499 students (65.96% of students nationwide)



School reopenings and closures (2019-2020 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2019-2020 academic year


The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

  • States closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 48
  • Number of public school students in states closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 50,261,464


The chart below shows the first date schools in a state were closed to in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 academic year, divided by the political party of the governor.

School responses by state

To read about school responses to the coronavirus pandemic in others states, click one of the following links below:

General resources

The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.

Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Number of operating public schools and districts, student membership, teachers, and pupil/teacher ratio, by state or jurisdiction: School year 2019–20," accessed September 10, 2021
  2. ↑ EducationWeek, "Map: Where Were Schools Required to Be Open for the 2020-21 School Year?," June 14, 2021
  3. ↑ Des Moines Register, "No mask mandates in Iowa schools, for now, court rules; exceptions could be made in future," May 16, 2022
  4. ↑ KCCI, "Court reverses injunction on mask mandate ban, muddying the waters for school districts," January 26, 2022
  5. ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa school districts may continue mask mandates after judge grants preliminary injunction," October 8, 2021
  6. ↑ Des Moines Register, "A judge blocked Iowa's ban on mask mandates in schools. What does it mean and which schools brought masks back?" September 14, 2021
  7. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  8. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  9. ↑ Burbio rated Iowa's in-person index at 100. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  10. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named IA215
  12. ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law requiring schools to offer 100% in-person learning option," accessed February 1, 2021
  13. ↑ Burbio rated Iowa's in-person index between 40-60. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  14. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  15. ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa counties must hit a 15% positive coronavirus test rate before schools can go online-only, governor says," July 30, 2020
  16. ↑ FOX 23, "Iowa governor to require in-person classes," July 20, 2020
  17. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Iowa School Reopening Plan Doesn't Require Masks, Distancing," June 25, 2020
  18. ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds orders schools to remain closed for the rest of the academic year," April 17, 2020
  19. ↑ KWQC, "Iowa Gov. Reynolds orders school closures to be extended through April 30," April 2, 2020
  20. ↑ KWWL, "GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Iowa schools recommended to close for four weeks," March 15, 2020
  21. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  22. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  24. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  25. ↑ Dec. 7, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they met one of the three following criteria: 1) the county vaccination rate was 80% or higher, 2) 80% of school staff and students were vaccinated, or 3) COVID-19 transmission in the county was considered moderate or low for 14 straight days.
  26. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  27. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
  28. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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