Central Iowa Times

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she is standing firm against school districts resisting a return to in-person education as the first day of school creeps closer.

The Iowa Department of Education published guidelines for school districts to go by as part of the state's "Return To Learn" plan on July 31. The guidelines state that school districts should prepare to open back up for in-person learning at schools open for the school year.

Reynolds said that if school districts do not comply with the guidelines, they are breaking the law.

"I want to be very clear. Schools that choose not to return to school for at least 50% in-person instruction are not defying me, they're defying the law," Reynolds said in a recent press release. "If they fail to comply or follow the law, then the days when they're not in compliance will not count toward instructional time, so it will have to be made up. The school administrators may also be subject to licensure discipline as well, and that's within the law."