When Will Waterloo School District Relax Its Mask Policy?

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With the academic year winding down, some Iowa school districts are relaxing their mask requirements.

For now, however, wearing a mask is still required for students and staff at all Waterloo Schools. But but a change in the policy could be coming soon.

District officials said they will be meeting with Black Hawk County Health officials Tuesday about the possibly of lifting their mask-wearing requirement. After the meeting, the district's Return-to-Learn Health and Safety Committee will meet on Wednesday to solicit additional feedback.

In a press release, Waterloo Schools officials said they may provide updated guidance on mask usage later this week. Until then, they will continue to follow the district's mask requirement policy.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Health issued COVID-19 guidance to schools and child care settings. In a letter sent to superintendents across the state, Iowa Public Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia said school districts should now let parents and students make their own decisions about mask usage in the classrooms.

According to the state's COVID-19 vaccine dashboard, more than 53,000 residents have completed the series in Black Hawk County and nearly 1.27 million individuals have completed the series across Iowa. The dashboard shows over 2.5 million total doses have been administered to Iowa residents.