Late on Thursday afternoon, the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) rejected the Iowa City Community School District’s request for a waiver to switch to all online classes for two weeks. The district applied for the waiver on Tuesday as Johnson County’s COVID-19 test positivity rate continued to increase over the last two weeks, with fears […]
Iowa Department of Education
COVID-19: State finally grants Iowa City schools another waiver, but ICCSD might not use it; another 2,057 Iowans test positive

On Friday afternoon, the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) granted the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) a waiver to continue with all-online classes next week as the number of new COVID-19 cases in Johnson County remains high. The district, however, said it will stick with its previously announced plan to resume its hybrid model […]
ICCSD gets to move all classes online as cases of COVID-19 surge in Johnson County (Updated)

Update: The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors approved moving the district’s school to all online instruction at its meeting on Tuesday evening. The change will take place on Monday, Nov. 16, following the recommendation of the district’s administration. Interim Superintendent Matt Degner said waiting until Monday would give parents a chance to […]
ICCSD asks the state for permission to go all online due to COVID-19 surge in Johnson County

The Iowa City Community School District has submitted a request to the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) to move to all online instruction for two weeks due to the surge in new cases of COVID-19 in Johnson County. In an email to district families, Interim Superintendent Matt Degner said the request had the support of […]
Iowa City schools receive a second waiver, will allow for an additional two weeks of all online classes

The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) received a second two-week waiver on Friday, allowing schools to offer keep offering less than 50 percent in-person instruction. District schools are currently holding all their classes online due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in Johnson County. Following recommendations from district staff, the ICCSD Board of Directors […]
Judges reject requests from Iowa City and Des Moines school districts for injunctions against Reynolds’ school mandates

Judges in Johnson County and Polk County denied requests from school districts for temporary injunctions blocking the state from enforcing Gov. Kim Reynolds’ mandate that schools provide at least 50 percent in-person instruction, unless the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) decides the spread of COVID-19 in a school district is severe enough to allow more […]
Iowa City school board votes to start the year fully online amid COVID-19 spike in Johnson County

The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Saturday to start the school year with two weeks of all online instruction. The decision was made possible by a waiver freeing the district from the 50 percent in-person instruction minimum Gov. Reynolds has mandated every school district in Iowa — except for […]
Iowa City schools granted waiver by state to start classes all online as Johnson County COVID-19 cases soar

The Iowa City Community School District has received a waiver from the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) that will allow it to begin the year with two weeks of all online instruction. The district had applied to DOE for a waiver to exempt its schools from the 50 percent in-person instruction standard Gov. Kim Reynolds […]
COVID-19: ISU reports 130 cases during its first week of classes; 78 more Johnson County residents test positive

Iowa State University started classes on Aug. 17, and on Monday, ISU reported 130 students and staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 during the first week of classes. The positives accounted for 13.6 percent of the 957 test results the university reported between Aug. 17 and 23. ISU had previously confirmed 175 cases of […]
Hearing date set for ICCSD, educators’ lawsuit against Gov. Reynolds’ school mandate

A hearing has been scheduled for the lawsuit challenging Gov. Kim Reynolds’ authority to order schools to have 50 percent in-person instruction even if local school boards believe COVID-19 conditions make that too dangerous. The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), which represents more than 30,000 educators in […]
White House Coronavirus Task Force recommends Iowa mandate masks and close bars; Des Moines Public Schools will sue the state for right to keep classes online

Last week, the White House Coronavirus Task Force advised Iowa to require face coverings in 48 of its 99 counties, and close bars in areas with a COVID-19 test positivity rate above 3 percent. The task force recommendations were included in its report dated Aug. 9, which was obtained by the Des Moines Register. “Iowa […]
Cedar Rapids schools will be able to start the school year with all online classes

School districts, like Cedar Rapids Community Schools, whose buildings were badly damaged by the Aug. 10 derecho will be able to start the school year with all online classes, Gov. Kim Reynolds said during her news conference on Thursday. “On Friday, we’ll be updating our existing disaster proclamation to accommodate the needs of those schools […]