Iowa’s republican Governor Kim Reynolds has continued to push for the reopening of schools for in-classroom instruction, even while questions of the accuracy of COVID data arises and objections come from teachers and administrators, the Associated Press reports.
Earlier this week, Iowa health officials acknowledged that data distributed on the spread and timing of coronavirus infections was faulty, with the dates of infections incorrectly reported by months.
But even with faulty data Reynolds, an avid follower of President Trump, has arbitrarily determined that it was safe for schools to open, threatening to take the decision out of the hands of local officials.
Now, teachers, school administrators and public health officials are openly questioning Reynolds’ judgement, calling for a revocation of the governor’s rule that each district have at least 50% of classes done in person to start the school year.
Reynolds’ order allows for districts that have a 15% or greater infection rate to apply for the ability to switch to on-line education with the permission of the state executive branch.
“They decided they wanted to open schools and then set the threshold, rather than deciding what’s safe and meeting that target. They did it backwards,” said Eli Perencevich, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Iowa.