Mask Mandate Lifted in CRCSD Schools

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Alyx Goldensoph

Mask mandates are banned in Iowa schools once again.

The CRCSD has lifted the mask mandate for all students and staff following a court ruling in the 8th Circuit Court.

In an email to CRCSD families, Superintendent Noreen Bush announced the universal mask requirement for students and staff will be lifted Wednesday, Jan. 26. Per a federal mandate, masks will still be required on buses.

The 10-day isolation for students and five-day isolation for teachers who test positive will still be in place. Teachers will also be required to wear a mask for five days after returning to work. CRCSD continues to encourage wearing masks due to the current COVID-19 transmission rate.

CRCSD schools have required masks since Sept. 15, 2021—two days after Judge Robert Pratt ruled the mask mandate ban was unfair to students with disabilities. The 8th Circuit Court has now reversed the ruling, declaring it too broad. The bill which banned school mask mandates in May 2021, House File 847, is now back in full effect.