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 Department of Education
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Iowa City Community School District joins lawsuit against Reynolds’ school reopening orders
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order requiring schools to offer at least 50 percent in-person instruction even if a school board decides the spread of COVID-19 in its community makes it unsafe to do so is unconstitutional, according to the attorney for the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). ISEA General Counsel Jay Hammond said during a news […]
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Gov. Reynolds: School district ‘did exactly what they needed to do’ by moving first-grade class online after positive COVID-19 test
Gov. Kim Reynolds had planned to have the superintendent of the Indianola Community School District speak at her press conference on Tuesday, so he could explain what the district has done since its Irving Elementary School confirmed a case of COVID-19 four days after starting classes, but postponed the superintendent’s appearance to have more time […]
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Iowa has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita in the Midwest
Five months after the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state, Iowa has the highest number of cases per capita of any Midwestern state, according to data compiled by the CDC. Ohio, where the first cases of the virus were confirmed one day after Iowa’s first cases, has the lowest number per capita […]
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COVID-19: School districts push back against Gov. Reynolds’ reopening plans; three more deaths reported in Johnson County
Saturday, Aug. 8 marks five months since the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Iowa, and on Friday Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office published an open letter from the governor about the pandemic, in which she said “we’re all working toward the same goal.” “Now is not the time to let our guard down,” Reynolds […]
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Cedar Rapids nursing home has a second outbreak of COVID-19, as 588 more Iowans test positive
Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids has been added to the Iowa Department of Public Health list of long-term care facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks. According to IDPH, six people at Cottage Grove have tested positive for the virus, one of whom is considered recovered. IDPH does not distinguish between residents and staff when reporting the […]
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State denies Iowa City school district’s request to start all classes online; Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 900
On Thursday, the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) rejected a request from the Iowa City Community School District to allow its schools to start the new school year with two weeks of all online instruction. In its application, ICCSD said it was concerned about the health and safety of students and staff if it began […]
