As the first day of school approaches for the Iowa City Community School District, Johnson County Public Health is raising concern regarding the students under the age of 12 who are unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as the Delta variant accounts for a majority of COVID-19 cases nationally. The district is encouraging mask wearing and vaccinations, as well as mandating masks on transportation and attempting to implement physical distancing where possible. 

Superintendent Matt Degner sent parents and guardians in the district an email Wednesday morning that included ICCSD’s Health and Safety Protocols. 

In the email, he wrote that the district anticipates by Aug. 23  — the first day of school  — Johnson County will reach substantial transmission on the CDC COVID Data Tracker. Currently the county is experiencing moderate transmission, though Johnson County Public Health is recommending everyone, regardless of vaccine status, wear masks indoors, as of Wednesday. 

RELATED: Johnson County Public Health recommends indoor mask-wearing

“We know the situation that our school districts are in, given the laws that have been passed, and so we’ll continue to support them as best we can, and work to do whatever we can to promote and recommend the layered approach as best as possible,” Johnson County Community Health Manager Sam Jarvis told the Johnson County Board of Supervisors during a meeting Wednesday.

Per legislation signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May, school boards cannot mandate that students, staff, or visitors wear face coverings on school property. 

However, the district is encouraging teachers, staff, students, and visitors to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, when indoors. The district is able to enforce mask mandates on buses and other school transportation.  

The ICCSD Health and Safety Protocol also notes the district will attempt to maximize distance between students, but they cannot guarantee consistent social distancing of three feet of space between individuals.

Deputy Superintendent Chace Ramey said during a special school board meeting on Tuesday night that the district’s COVID-19 mitigation protocol will be reviewed if Johnson County’s transmission level rises or falls.

If transmission rises, visitors and volunteers could be denied from entering district buildings and schools, the number of people at gatherings could be limited so spaces are at 50 percent capacity, and student travel could be suspended, said Ramey.

During the Tuesday night meeting, board member Lisa Williams said the district was feeling more optimistic in May about what the 2021-2022 school year would look like, but the Delta variant and lack of vaccine availability for students under 12 was putting the board in a spot that “none of us wanted to be in.” 

Williams, a parent of two elementary students in the district, said she was particularly worried for elementary students who cannot get vaccinated yet. 

“I just really empathize with how badly [parents] want their kids back at school,” she said. “I mean, our online program was great, and I can say that because I participated in it, but it is not a substitute for in-person education, especially for our elementary kids.” 

Williams suggested there be different quarantine rules depending on if a student wears a mask or not. If a student is exposed while not wearing a mask, Williams said, they would have to quarantine and lose out on instruction, but if they were wearing one they could stay in school. 

In response to Williams, Degner mentioned this could put a strain on teachers who would have to work with contract tracers to identify who was wearing a mask or not. He said he expects to hear from the Iowa Department of Public Health soon with more guidance for schools. 

The board didn’t make a final decision regarding how masked and unmasked kids would be treated regarding quarantine, but ICCSD President Shawn Eyestone said when the district changed the guideline in the spring so that students who were wearing masks when exposed to someone with COVID-19 didn’t have to quarantine, that rule worked for district families. 

“We’re still not mandating masks anywhere, that is still a choice, that’s what people are asking for, but choices have consequences and I think we owe it to all of the other students to make sure we’re doing what we can to keep them safe,” Eyestone said. 

School board Vice President Ruthina Malone said she didn’t want parents to get their hopes up based solely on the conversation the board was having on Tuesday, as state-level guidance and rules are subject to change. 

“There’s very limited options that we can provide for children under 12 coming into our building, besides opening online enrollment,” she said. 

According to the email from Degner, an additional open enrollment period for the PK-12 Online Learning Program, ICCSD Online, will take place from Aug. 4-9.