Urbandale Community School District: Effective 1/25/22: Face Masks Optional In UCSD Schools

Press release from the Urbandale Community School District:

January 25th, 2022

As you may be aware, on September 13, 2021, a federal judge in Des Moines issued a temporary restraining order preventing school districts from enforcing an Iowa law that prohibited school districts from mandating the use of face masks. As a result of that ruling, on September 15, 2021, the UCSD Board of Education voted to mandate the use of face masks for students and staff, with exceptions provided for those with a disability or a sincerely held religious belief.

Today, January 25, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a ruling which reversed the lower court’s ruling. As such, this negates the UCSD Board mask mandate. Therefore, in compliance with this federal decision which upholds the state law, face masks are now optional in UCSD buildings effective January 25, 2022. 

While face masks are once again optional, UCSD encourages the wearing of face masks in order to help mitigate transmission of the COVID-19 virus and maintain a healthy learning environment in our schools. You’re welcome to review the current status of COVID-19 positive cases in our schools by reviewing the COVID-19 Status Dashboard. The intention of the dashboard is to provide families and staff with positive case data so that families and staff can make informed decisions regarding personal mitigation measures.

Please be aware, per the Presidential Executive Order, students riding on school buses are still required to wear a face covering/mask. Again, face masks are optional in UCSD buildings and are still required when riding on a school bus.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we know these are challenging times. 

This press release was produced by the Urbandale Community School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.