GOP senators were accused of violating Senate ethics rules when they backed a ban on mask mandates in schools. | Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema
GOP senators were accused of violating Senate ethics rules when they backed a ban on mask mandates in schools. | Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema
The Iowa Senate Ethics Committee, on Sept. 14, dismissed complaints against the Republican senators that voted to ban mask mandates in schools.
Six Iowa residents had previously accused GOP senators of violating Senate ethics rules when they backed a ban that could put the lives of medically vulnerable students’ and school staff at risk, Radio Iowa reported.
Erin Dahl filed the lawsuit regarding GOP senators’ vote on House File 847, which prohibits schools from requiring students and employees to wear masks, and alleged that senators had discriminated against Iowans with disabilities by voting the bill that prohibits school boards from mandating masks to contain the spread of COVID-19, The Gazette reported.
"Senators ignored the extreme risk posed to disabled and medically vulnerable students and their families," Dahl said, according to The Gazette. "The spread of the coronavirus is 'making every place in Iowa an unsafe place.'"
The Iowa Senate Ethics committee dismissed the complaint on the grounds that it didn't have jurisdiction.
“I really feel for the parents,” Iowa state Sen. Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque) said, “but this is something that needs to go to the courts.”
In the meantime, a federal judge has placed a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the ban on mask mandates in schools.
Alerts Sign-up