Demand That All Corridor School Districts Instate A Mask Mandate To Protect Our Children

Movement:Enforce Mask Mandates in School

Demand That All Corridor School Districts Instate A Mask Mandate To Protect Our Children

Started

August 25, 2021

Petition to

Iowa City Community School District School Board and

Signatures: 444Next Goal: 500

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Why this petition matters

Started by Corridor Community Action Network

Dear School Board:

We are at a pivotal moment, living in an area of high transmission of the Delta variant of Covid-19 as one of 8 states with a ban on school mask mandates. This public health crisis can get better, or it can get a lot worse. Hospitals in the Corridor are seeing pediatric admissions again and children under 12 are still unable to be vaccinated. Schools have been unable to create six feet of distance between these unvaccinated children, as there is not enough space to do so. People should not be in crowded rooms unmasked during this pandemic, especially those who are unvaccinated and especially when we have such a high rate of community spread (i).

As educators and community organizations working to create a better life for those who live here, we, the undersigned, demand that the school board mandate masks at all school facilities and events. This mandate should be kept in place until such time as elementary-aged children are eligible for vaccination and community spread has returned to the “low” category.

We know that universal masking reduces covid-19 transmission and saves lives (ii). Making masks optional does not provide the protection that universal masking does. Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) (iii), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (iv), and the World Health Organization (WHO) (v) all recommend universal masking. Regardless of state law or individuals' opinions, we must heed this. It really is all we need to know, and it really is that simple. No one person, parent, governor, or school board knows more than the CDC, WHO, and the 67,000 pediatricians that make up the AAP.

Requiring masks is not unique and is not an overreach. Many schools across the country are choosing to do the right thing and protect their students with a mask mandate (vi). The United States has required students attending public schools to receive vaccinations to protect other students since 1922 (vii). A mask mandate for that purpose is no different and is no more complicated than the requirement that students wear shirts and shoes in school.

The Delta variant of Covid-19, which is currently the predominant strain in Iowa (viii), is far more contagious than previous versions (ix), creating surges of cases across age groups. Vaccinated individuals who are infected can transmit Delta as readily as unvaccinated infected people can (x), so our teachers should be masked regardless of vaccination status. Children are contracting Delta, getting seriously ill (xi), and dying (xii). We now consistently have children hospitalized at UIHC with covid again (xiii).

If the school district continues to fail to protect our children, teachers, and other school staff with a mandate, they are also exacerbating health equity issues. An unmasked environment is dangerous for all of the children in our community, but particularly those who are immunocompromised. Making decisions without taking their needs for access to in-school supports into account is ableist and is forcing many parents to keep children home who have a legal right to access school services.

While such risks are obviously far outweighed by the alternate consequence of child death, we do recognize the realities of potential consequences of defying the governor that teachers, administrators, and districts may face. We have begun to raise money to help mitigate potential fines or budget cuts, though it seems unlikely that will be necessary. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has clearly stated that states do not have the authority to withhold federal funds from schools that choose to instate mandates (xiv) and even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ office has admitted that they cannot follow through on previous threats to do so and that they ”have no control over local employees’ pay (xv).”

The Iowa ban on mask mandates does not make it impossible for local school districts to issue such mandates. It does present challenges and makes taking the necessary actions more difficult, but your hands are not tied. As we watch Texas school districts make the right choice to place life over law and protect their students (xvi), we call on you to do the same and to challenge the ban by issuing a mask mandate. Protecting our children is a community responsibility and a responsibility of the school board in particular. Challenging harmful laws is also a responsibility and a normal part of our civic process that has had successful outcomes with the Reynolds administration in the past.

The federal administration is currently investigating ways to take legal action against the Reynolds administration on this issue (xvii) and there are active lawsuits against other states that have enacted bans on mandates in schools (xviii). This deadly law will not stand. We are counting on you, the school board, to protect our children while these issues are addressed in court. Make masks mandatory for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the district at all school facilities and events and purchase HEPA filters for all classrooms (xix).

Sincerely,

Corridor Community Action Network
Iowa Citizen Action Network
Beloved Community Initiative
Iowa City Mutual Aid
Golfview Residents Association
Claiming Disability Inc.
Bridge Under The Bridge
Center For Worker Justice

Iowa Poor People’s Campaign
Domestic Violence Intervention Program
Iowa City Autism Community
Neighborhood NESTS
Dream City Iowa
The League of Women Voters of Iowa
Iowa Action
One Iowa
Iowa Citizens For Community Improvement
Veterans For Peace Iowa

Antelope Lending Library
Cedar Rapids Democratic Socialists of America

i. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view

ii. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7986346/

iii. https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/

iv. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html

v. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/06/28/covi-j28.html

vi. https://districtadministration.com/track-school-mask-rules-requirements-state-Please let us know as soon as possible if you will join us in this effort by signing onto this letter.

vii. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/school-vaccination-requirements

viii. https://www.thegazette.com/health-care-medicine/delta-variant-becomes-most-prominent-covid-19-strain-in-iowa/

ix. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/07/08/1013794996/why-the-delta-variant-is-so-contagious-a-new-study-sheds-light

x. https://www.ktvu.com/news/cdc-new-data-suggests-vaccinated-people-could-transmit-delta-variant

xi. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7023e1.htm