Iowa school districts will no longer be allowed to issue sweeping mask mandates, a federal appeals court panel ruled Monday.
The 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has lifted an earlier court order that blocked a state law banning the mandates, ruling that the order is now moot due to lower coronavirus transmission and wider vaccine availability.
But the panel also emphasized that Iowa’s law does not apply in situations where a school would need to require masks to comply with another federal or state law. That leaves the door open for schools to continue to require masks in certain circumstances as an accommodation for students with disabilities in order to comply with federal law, said the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, which is representing a group of families suing the state.
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