DMPS
VS.
STATE OF IOWA
How Return to Learn became a legal battel and where the district stands now As the summer came to an end, school districts in Iowa had to decide how their students would return to learning for the 2020-2021 school year during a global pandemic. Districts had to make a decision that worked for their students, families, and staff as well as balance the guidelines set by the state. DMPS took time trying to come up with the safest way to go back to school. “First we started with learning about COVID-19: how does it spread? What are the best ways to limit spread? Who is vulnerable to the virus? We then assessed, following known best practice for in-person settings, how many students could we safely serve at one time in each of our classrooms and each of our schools. We then tried to create a schedule that would provide for as much in-person time as we could, while keeping our physical spaces sanitized, and be able to transition into fully virtual when conditions required it,” Superintendent, Thomas Ahart said. Coming up with a plan hasn't been easy for DMPS, being the state's largest district. They are likely to be affected heavily with the virus. “I think our concerns on each side of this issue are more real for us than any other district in the state. For example, if our densely packed schools are hit hard by COVID then it will impact a large number quickly,” Social Science teacher, Jake Hoversten. After the pandemic hit during the second semester of the 2020 school year, schools all around the world had to close and some transitioned to virtual learning. This transition has been hard for teachers and students to adjust to. So, to start getting ready for the 2020-21 school year with the pandemic still rising with cases, DMPS created the “Return to Learn” plan to help provide the best way to educate their students while keeping them safe and healthy. To try to achieve this goal, DMPS came up with a plan where students had the option of going to school all virtual for the first semester or choose hybrid, which is when students attend school in-person one or two times a week. DMPS made this plan over the summer but since making these plans there have been many COVID-19 cases. So, DMPS has had to make the difficult decision of going all virtual for the first semester of the 2020-21 school year. Because the cases in Iowa grow more and more each week. In July DMPS stated getting the Return to learn plan ready by making sure they followed state laws and were making sure to they were following safety guidelines. According to the Des Moines Register, DMPS submitted a return to learn plan on July 21. The Return to
learn detailed a plan to give students a choice between going fully virtual or doing a hybrid model, which would bring students to campus one day a week. But on August 17 DMPS voted to start school virtually because of the virus, since they made changes to their return to learn plan the district had to request approval from the Iowa Department of Education before being able to hold classes only virtually. On July 17 Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation that allows schools to switch to more than 50 percent virtual learning if approved by the Iowa Department of education. The state requires most of the schools to hold classes in-person despite coronavirus spreading across Iowa. According to Iowa Public Radio, Reynolds stated that if schools don’t follow the law for reopening schools then they will need to make up time at the end of the year and that administrators could face discipline from their licensing board. When asked what he thought about Kim Reynolds proclamation Ahart said, he was fine with allowing for mostly in-person classes as long as the decision to hold in-person classes is made at the local level so that the characteristics of particular communities can be taken in to account in determining the best plan for each district. Des Moines asked for approval to go online so that they could protect their students and staff from COVID-19 but were denied by the Department of Education. The Department of Education stated that they denied DMPS because their priority is to let parents choose what is best for their child. Reynolds and the state are concerned that students may lose ground academically when taking classes online. On August 25th DMPS filed a petition in the District Court to respond to the state's rejection of their Return to learn plan. DMPS wants to fight against the state's decision and wants to override the State’s control over local school state laws. The DMPS Superintendent Thomas Ahart stated that the Petition that DMPS filed today in Polk County District Court is about local control and who is best positioned to make decisions to promote the health and safety of our students and staff, their families and the broader community while pursuing our core mission. So, should schools have control over the state's local laws? According to The Gazette “every school board is balancing its own local factors. It’s impossible for government bureaucrats in Des Moines to come up with a model or matrix that’s suitable for every corner of the state”. On Tuesday Sept.9, Jeffrey Farrell, a Polk County judge, denied Des Moines Public Schools’ request for temporary injunction that
allows schools in the district to hold class online while DMPS is in the lawsuit against Kim Reynolds and the Department of Education. According to the Washington post, Ahart in a statement said he was disappointed with the ruling and how it forces him to send students and staff back to classrooms without well thought out safety precautions or risk losing state funding if DMPS doesn't follow state rules. On Sept. 15 after being denied holding classes online well the lawsuit is going on, DMPS said they plan to still hold classes 100 percent virtually. According to local 5 news On Sept. 16 Reynolds stressed that DMPS will face the biggest challenges being the largest district in the state and that they also will have the biggest consequences for further inaction. I think our concerns on each side of this issue are more real for us than any other district in the state. On Sept. 21, DMPS held a board meeting in which they had a vote. They voted 6-1 to approve a new return to school plan. The new plan that was approved was a hybrid model. They decided that all the students at DMPS will all return to school by November. PreK starting Oct. 12, K-5 starting Oct. 19, 6-8 Oct. 26 and finally 9-12 returning Oct. 10. This plan was made by the DMPS board and with the help of medical experts, DMPS is hoping to safely bring their students back to in-person learning even with the cases in Polk County constantly rising. What does DMPS and the State want the outcome to be? Both the State and district want their students to return to school safely and make sure that they make a plan that is clear and throughout “I recognize that the interruption to our regular school schedule and calendar has created challenges for our students, staff, and their families. I am attempting to provide as much clarity to everyone as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we are in a very different place relative to COVID-19 than I was hoping we would be last March and with the rules we must follow changing frequently and unpredictably, I have not been able to provide as much clarity and assurance as I would like. I appreciate the grace being demonstrated by our community and look forward to making it through to the point where COVID-19 is under control in our community and we can bring our entire DMPS family back to in-person learning” Ahart said.
Story/S.Selema
East High Scroll
/3
