A federal court on Tuesday rejected Republican Iowa Gov. Kimberly Reynolds' challenge to ban mask mandates in school districts across the state, according to official documents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit stated that, “While COVID-19 remains an ever-present concern in society, the general risks associated with COVID-19 are considered to be “imminent and significant.'' The court judged that the argument that “there is not enough evidence to show that the harm,” court documents Partially shown.

The court also found that “because the plaintiffs are alleging only a potential risk of serious illness if they contracted COVID-19 at school, the risk of harm does not meet the element of actual injury. is too speculative.''[e]Even if the plaintiff shows actual injury, the burden of establishing traceability cannot be assumed,” the papers said.

The ruling follows a nearly two-and-a-half-year legal challenge to the Iowa law by 11 parents and the disability rights group Arc of Iowa. house file 847, prohibiting school districts from imposing mask mandates in schools. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on September 3, 2021, alleging that they are too young to receive the vaccine and have “particularly severe illness, prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, or even death from COVID-19.” too” American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Press Release I got it.

The law is a “civil rights violation that puts vulnerable children in dangerous situations,” ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austin said in a statement. (Related: ACLU announces to represent NRA in Supreme Court case)

reynolds He seemed satisfied with the verdict and said: Children are “the most vulnerable” but “have paid the highest price of coronavirus lockdowns and mandates,” he said, adding that Iowa was “the first state to return students to classrooms and “We are prohibiting mandatory mask-wearing in public schools and trusting parents to decide what is best.” For their children. ”

“Elected leaders should always have faith in the people they serve, and I am committed to doing so again,” she added.

A.C.L.U. Filed 145 lawsuits Although he was disappointed with the ruling, he said he was “proud of what this case accomplished for Iowa's vulnerable children,” and said the lawsuit was the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “Provided early relief to our customers,” the Associated Press added. report.

Reynolds is an appellant in the case, which argues that schools should consider mask mandates as a possible reasonable modification to state law to accommodate students with disabilities. They were dissatisfied with a federal judge's November 2022 ruling in favor of rights defenders. The Associated Press pointed out.

The case reportedly ended when the U.S. Eighth Circuit dismissed the appellants' lawsuit on Tuesday.