Schools to close through April 30

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds ordered schools in Iowa to remain closed through April 30 in a press conference on Thursday in Des Moines.

Schools were scheduled to reopen on April 13 after Reynolds' first recommendation in March for schools to close for four weeks.

For the extended period starting April 13, individual school districts are tasked with making the decision of how to administer learning; unlike the previous four-week closure period, these 14 school days will need to be made up in-person unless required distance learning guidelines are met.

A message on Aplington-Parkersburg's district website read: "Our focus is to continue to support the students and our families with online distance learning and educational enrichment opportunities. … Please watch for further details related to educational expectations and engaging learning opportunities."

Dike-New Hartford's administration published a letter to Facebook, noting that date changes for prom and graduation, along with other social activities, would likely change with the conditions of getting back to school after the April 30 date.

"We will have our most current educational delivery system ready to implement the week of April 13," the letter continued. "D-NH, through our existing work with staff, may be ready earlier than that."

On March 17, Gov. Reynolds signed legislation passed in an emergency session of the Iowa legislature that in part allowed for the instructional time requirement to be waived for the days missed during the four-week period of school closings in Iowa. Iowa law requires schools complete either 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction each school year.

In conjunction with Gov. Reynolds' announcement, Iowa's high school Unified Activities group announced that events will be prohibited through April 30. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association are still working to offer spring and summer sports opportunities and the Iowa High School Music Association and Iowa High School Speech Association will provide member schools with guidance for teachers and participants during the prohibited period.