The three-judge panel that heard arguments on Iowa’s law banning school mask mandates ruled Tuesday that the statewide order allowing schools to institute mask mandates was overly broad compared to what the plaintiffs needed.
The parents who sued the state over the law were successful, however the court said those plaintiffs are not harmed by the absence of mask requirements at schools their children do not attend.
The case will return to the district court with orders to provide a revised injunction limited to just those schools and districts attended by the children of the plaintiffs.
One of the three judges wrote a dissent stating that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust administrative remedies provided under the federal disability law prior to filing their lawsuit. Judge Ralph Erickson wrote no injunction was warranted.
We will provide more information as time allows.
