Medical mask on white background.

In response to a federal appellate court ruling issued Tuesday, the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) will change its official policy from requiring masks to strongly recommending them for students and staff members in grades pre-kindergarten through six.

Previously, masks had been recommended for students and staff in grades seven through 12 and required at the lower grade levels, and they are still “highly recommended and strongly encouraged” for all students and staff. The change will take effect immediately, and in a statement, MCSD Superintendent Theron Schutte called the timing “inopportune” considering the recent surge in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 within the district and across the state.

“Since Winter Break ended, MCSD has experienced more staff and student absences than ever before, including the pivot to virtual learning the week of Thanksgiving 2020,” Schutte wrote. “As shared at our most recent Board meeting on Tuesday Jan. 18, given the significant number of staff and student absences (due to illness) that we’ve been experiencing the last few weeks, changing the mask requirement at the PK-6 level, which includes our lowest percentage of vaccinated students, would not be deemed sensible or appropriate.”

Schutte added that strongly recommending mask wearing in schools regardless of vaccination status is in keeping with the advice of both Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local public health officials. The district, he said, will continue to monitor its COVID-19 data and adjust its health and safety protocols as warranted.

According to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, some, but not all, Iowa school districts can require masks to comply with federal regulations protecting students with disabilities. In September, Arc of Iowa, an advocacy group for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, sued the state and Gov. Kim Reynolds over a law she signed banning mask mandates in school districts, cities and counties. A district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and issued an injunction against the mask mandate ban, but the appellate court held that the injunction was overbroad and sent it back to the lower court with the instruction to issue a narrower ruling on the matter.