Currently, Iowa has the highest rate of positive coronavirus cases in the U.S. Some people believe that Governor Reynolds could be doing more to help slow the spread of the virus. Before school began, she made it mandatory that the schools open for at least 50% in person instruction (unless the rate is 15 percent or higher in that district/county over a two week period). When making this decision, she has given little leadership to the smaller government leaders (county, city, town) to make their own decision based off of their specific county. For these reasons, she is being sued by The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), who feel that it should be up to them whether they hold in person school or go fully online. Her controversial decisions come after months of her refusing to implement a mask mandate for public spaces, which has also been met with much scrutiny.
The ICCSD and the ISEA are suing the governor, not to go fully online, but to be able to make the decision on their own, without her interfering. They believe that she’s overstepping her boundaries and should let the local government decide what to do. The Iowa City school district is already preparing its own criteria to go fully online, making the decision to go online if positivity rates reach 10%. Des Moines Public School also filed a separate lawsuit from the ICCSD and the ISEA, after their waiver requesting to start fully online was rejected.
On the other side of the lawsuit, the governor believes that she is making the best decision for Iowa and doesn’t feel that she’s overstepping the leadership of local government. The state’s stance in the lawsuit is that in regards to public education, the state and legislature have control. Governor Reynolds believes that it’s in the best interest of students to remain, atleast, partially in person, citing the benefits that in person school has. However, many school districts have already reported cases of coronavirus, which are only expected to go up. This poses the question about which decision is in the best interests of the safety of students and their families, however both sides recognize the benefits of in person learning for students.
Personally, I feel that the governor shouldn’t be putting restrictions on what the specific counties or towns decide to do in regards to how we go back or continue with school. Ultimately, the local government is making the decision on what is best for the area and community.
Is it right for the governor and state to restrict local governments from making their own decisions on how school should move foward?
Which side do you think has the best interests of the students and school staff?
How do you think Governor Reynolds has handled the coronavirus this far? Are there things she could be doing better?
Governor Reynolds Lawsuit Hearing
Replies
Great topic choice and super job overall!
I do not think Governor Reynolds should be able to restrict what the local government does with there schools. I do not think it is in the best interest of the students and staff. The local government would have a better idea of the cases and if they are coming from school events. I do believe that Governor Reynolds could be handling the Coronavirus better for example making a mask mandate or closing certain places down. I will say though it is a hard position to be in and she is doing what she can.
I totally agree with you. I think that if she was so worried about the loss of the benefits in person school provides, she should be looking for ways to supplement them with the online situation. I think that the health and safety of the students and their families should be first priority. I also agree that she could be doing better to handle the coronavirus; however, it is very difficult position to be in, especially making those hard decisions.
I think the point about re-election is really interesting and is something I didn't conisder. She definitely could personal motives for the way she's handling it, and she could be doing things because she wants to get re-elected. I also agree the local government would most likely make a better decision for the school.
Personally, I do not think it is right that the governor and state restrict local governments from making their own decisions. I would hope that the local governments would know more about what is going on in their part of Iowa. This is why I think the local governments would make better decisions for their people. I think the governor is handling the coronavirus to her best ability.
I agree that the local governments would make the best decision for the community because they are also people who live in the community. However, I think that Governor Reynolds could be doing a better job by implementing a mask mandate.
I think it should be the local governments that decide what decisions should be made in order to go back to school. I think the local governments have the best interests in the students and staff because they are more local. They know the numbers in cases, and they know more factors in deciding the different mandates for schools. I think Governor Reynolds is trying her best to handle the coronavirus to her best ability.
I agree that the local governments should have the authority to decide what happens with school. They would feel the effects an outbreak would have on the community, so they'd do what's best for us locally. I have to disagree that Governor Reynolds is doing her absolute best, however. She hasn't implemented a mask mandate which could've made a big difference on our numbers if you look at examples of other states. Obviously, nobody really knows how to handle this, but I think she should maybe look at states who are doing really well and take some pointers from them, otherwise our numbers aren't going to get better if some things don't change.
I do believe that local government should have the final say as to what is ultimately decided for their school district. I also believe that the local government would want the best for the community, because if there was a massive outbreak, the local economy would decline and many would be out of work, therefore harming the local government more than the governor and the state as a whole. I do not believe that Governor Reynolds has handled the situation well, due to the fact that she never truly 'shut down' the state completely. I believe that she is simply reacting to what is happening rather than being proactive in the stop of the spread of the virus.
I really liked your point about how Governor Reynolds wouldn't directly see the harm an outbreak would inflict on small communities. She's definitely worried more about the state as a whole, rather than individual communities. I also really liked your point about her being reactive, rather than proactive. Her lack of action in the beginning, and her continued lack of suffient action throughout has led us to the point where we are.
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