Fisher says school district will follow law, masks will not be required in school

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Students and teachers can wear them if they choose, but there will be no mask mandate in the Charles City Community School District when classes start this year.

Charles City School District Superintendent Mike Fisher told the school board on Monday that legally, he can no longer require masks, even if he wanted to.

“There will not be some kind of face mask mandate, because it is illegal,” Fisher said. “We are not allowed, as an entity, to mandate masks for staff, visitors or students.”

Iowa lawmakers passed a bill in May that prohibited school boards and other local officials from mandating mask wearing. That bill was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“The Iowa legislature passed and the governor signed several pieces of legislation that are now law, and we really don’t have a lot of say in it as a school district,” Fisher said.

Fisher said that the district will communicate that masks are always welcome.

“If anyone wants to choose to wear a mask, they will be welcome to do so, if they feel like that’s the health decision that they want to make,” he said.

The first day back to school for high school and middle school students in Charles City is Monday, Aug. 23. The first day back to school for elementary school students is Wednesday, Aug. 25.

Fisher anticipates releasing a document of answers to frequently asked questions for parents and students before the start of the school year, detailing what will be required and what will be expected in the coming year regarding student health and safety.

Fisher has sought and received guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Education, and has been informed that staff or students who test positive for the coronavirus during the school year won’t be ordered to quarantine, but are encouraged to take the proper safety precautions.

“Floyd County Public Health will not be doing any quarantining of students who have tested positive,” he said. “As a school district, we really don’t have legal authority to quarantine. That’s always come from public health.”

If somebody is positive, they will be expected to stay home for a 10-day period on their own.

Fisher said that public health will also not be contact tracing, although they have asked the district to do as much contact tracing as it can.

Fisher said a letter will be sent to families of students who have been exposed, and although the letter will not order them to do anything, it will make health recommendations and offer advice.

The district will continue with cleaning procedures. Charles City has increased the number of air filters in its buildings and expanded the number of hand sanitizer stations, and the buildings and grounds crews will continue to do a large amount of cleaning and disinfecting.

Fisher also said that there would be no hybrid learning option offered this year, as the law mandates that all students be offered a 100% full in-person learning option.

“If there is an outbreak, we will have to find other ways to mitigate without offering the hybrid piece,” he said.

Through the district’s new innovative campus, a full digital learning option will be available for any student who wants to use it.

“If a family decides that the best option for them will be learning from home, we can and will accommodate them,” Fisher said.

He said there will be teachers dedicated to working with students through the innovative campus, and the regular staff will not have to deal with the trouble of teaching both in the classroom and digitally, as was done for much of last year.

Online teachers will be using existing curriculum, and more information will be coming out on that before the school year.

Fisher also said that the district will be offering at least two COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the first month of the school year. Information will be forthcoming on those.