Gov. Reynolds urges Des Moines schools to meet with her staff, comply with in-person instruction law
Des Moines Public Schools is the only district that doesn't yet have a pandemic-era instruction plan that complies with state regulations, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday as she urged officials from the state's largest district to meet with her team to come up with a plan.
Reynolds proclaimed in July that all schools that do not have a waiver must conduct at least 50% of classes in person. Des Moines school officials filed a lawsuit over the plan and the state's rejection of a waiver. The school district lost an early battle in that suit on Tuesday.
"I am committed to working with the Des Moines Public Schools to meet the health and education needs of our students," Reynolds said Thursday.
Other schools have already brought students back to the classroom or received waivers from the state, Reynolds said.
District officials are still working to come up with a new plan. They were scheduled to meet Thursday evening in a public work session to discuss possible changes to the district's return-to-learn plan and weigh legal considerations along with community feedback.
The state and district officials have already been talking. Phil Roeder, director of communications for the district, said Superintendent Thomas Ahart spoke with Iowa Department of Education director Ann Lebo on Wednesday about a meeting to "discuss issues related to our return-to learn efforts in Des Moines."
Polk County Judge Jeffrey Farrell on Tuesday denied the district's request to keep holding classes fully online while its lawsuit against the state proceeds. The district, which held its first day of classes Tuesday, is challenging Reynolds' order requiring primarily in-person instruction.
Ahart said in a statement after Tuesday's ruling that online instruction would continue "until further notice."
Reynolds said "online learning is great for families who have the means to make it work, but it's not so good for those who live in stressed economic conditions." She said she's worried about low-income students, students with disabilities and students of color being left behind if the district continues to teach classes fully online.
"I know without hesitation that members of the Des Moines school board care about these issues as well," Reynolds said.
If students are quarantined, they don't count as absent
At Reynolds' Thursday news conference, Lebo also discussed the state's decision not to count students as absent if they are quarantining due to potential coronavirus exposure but are able to participate in remote learning.
"What’s so unique about this year is that, prior to this year, if you were absent, you’re absent and you didn’t have the ability to learn. Now you might be absent for a variety of reasons," she said.
Lebo said those different types of absences are "a challenge" to report within one system.
The absenteeism rate at schools plays a key role in whether districts can receive permission from the state to transition fully to online learning.
Under the state's criteria, announced weeks ago, districts are to have a positive coronavirus test rate of at least 15% over the previous 14 days in the county where they are located and at least 10% absenteeism among students before they can receive a two-week waiver from in-person instruction.
Reynolds described the absenteeism threshold for schools as a "guideline" that helps determine whether districts will receive approval to go fully online, but not the only factor.
"We're just trying to provide guidelines. Our goal, I think, is to get everybody back in school and to make sure that we're doing (it) safely and responsibly," Reynolds said.
The governor had previously said that a school district can apply for a waiver before reaching that threshold and that state officials will take local conditions into account when making decisions.
"What we are doing when we meet with public health is looking at the cases that are identified, the positive numbers, how is that impacting their population and then just using this as one piece of that conversation," Lebo said Thursday.
Iowa state epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati said schools have long reported absenteeism numbers to the public health department to track illnesses like the flu.
"We’re still recommending quarantine for people who have been exposed to a case of COVID, and that is still going to be important to do," she said. "Because again, the goal there is you’re well, but you had an exposure, and so if you stay home if you were to become sick, there’s no way for you to pass that on."
More:Here's what will happen if a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19 at an Iowa school
Official: Frequent movement breaks in class not a prudent safety measure
Some school have added another mitigation strategy to their repertoires: implementing movement breaks every 12 to 14 minutes. That may be misguided, Pedati said at the news conference.
"I wouldn't suggest that as an approach," she said.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends that anyone who has been within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 for 15 consecutive minutes or more should quarantine for at least 14 days.
Waukee High School leaders recently suggested the breaks, during which students would get up from their desks and move around the classroom. The district has since received criticism for what some saw as an attempt to avoid having to quarantine students.
Waukee Principal Cary Justmann said students will still have to quarantine if a classmate tests positive for COVID-19.
"This is more a thing of Waukee High School having four classes of 90 minutes in length more so than it is any particular thing," Justmann said. "It’s what are we doing, in general, to keep our healthy kids healthy."
Pedati said schools should focus on limiting person-to-person interactions, not potentially increasing them.
"We’ve got a virus that moves from person to person, so minimizing person-to-person interactions is how you can minimize the transfer of this virus," she said.
Justmann said in a note to teachers that students would be expected to remain socially distant during the breaks.
Nick Coltrain is a politics and data reporter for the Register. Reach him at ncoltrain@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8361. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.