News

Updates to the Mask Requirement

The Ankeny Board of Education voted to discontinue the September amendment to the Return to Learn Plan, which was originally scheduled to sunset on December 21, 2021. This effectively ends the mask requirement in Ankeny Schools beginning, Wednesday, December 8. Masks will still be required on buses in accordance with the Order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC continues to recommend that all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, and we recommend those who are able continue to follow this guidance to support the health and safety of both our students and staff.

The Iowa Department of Public Health provided guidance to school districts in May 2021 that requires parental notification when students are exposed to COVID-19. With this change to the Return to Learn Plan, you may begin receiving an increase in these notifications. Please note that due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), neither the district, school building secretary, nor your school nurse will be able to provide exact exposure information.

Furthermore, it remains vitally important that any students who are feeling ill stay home. Federal and state public health agencies have information available to help you understand COVID-19 symptoms and appropriate next steps if you and/or your children are experiencing them.

We continue to await a decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Iowa’s law prohibiting mask requirements in schools. If the court’s decision has any impact on our current mitigation procedures, we will notify our school community at that time.

Thank you,

Dr. Erick Pruitt
Superintendent of Schools