The mother of two young students in Council Bluffs is suing Governor Kim Reynolds over the law she signed that bans schools from requiring masks. Fran Parr has twin sons in first grade. Parr says she’s fighting for the safety of in-person learning.
“I hope we get some recognition of the risk that this Delta variant is to the unvaccinated and to children,” she says.
Parr’s lawsuit also names the Iowa Department of Education as a defendant. It’s the first lawsuit filed to challenge the law Reynolds signed in May. Parr says thousands of kids under the age of 12 aren’t eligible for the Covid vaccine and Iowa is poised for super-spreader events in every Iowa school.
“So if my kids were in class, a kid had Covid or was found to be Covid-positive, but he was masked, that would make me feel a lot more comfortable that we’re still managing this, we’re still doing the best that we can.”
Governor Reynolds has said it should be parents who decide whether their children wear masks at school.
(By Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)