Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa ACLU has announced that 11 Iowa parents of students with disabilities and a disability rights group are filing a federal lawsuit against the State of Iowa over the law that bans mask mandates in schools.
ACLU attorney Rita Bettis Austen says the students can’t get the same education through online learning.
Bettis Austen says they are asking the court to immediately block the part of the law that prohibits mask mandates from schools.
The U.S. Department of Education says it is investigating whether laws against mask mandates in Iowa and four other states violate federal anti-discrimination laws. Bettis Austen says this lawsuit follows along with that investigation.
Bettis Austen says this case is not connected to a case brought in state court by a parent from Council Bluffs. Heather Preston of Des Moines is one of the parents in that suit.
Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in May and says it allows parents to decide if their child should wear a mask to school.
