Federal clerk: Temporary injunction on school mask mandate ban won't expire Monday
A federal clerk confirms with KCCI on Friday that the temporary restraining order on the Iowa law banning schools from making mask mandates won't expire on Monday.
The clerk says it will last until a ruling is made on the preliminary injunction.
On Sept. 13, a federal judge ordered the state of Iowa to immediately pause enforcement of the law banning schools from implementing mask mandates. In the following two weeks, several central Iowa schools started requiring masks.
Questions about how long the temporary restraining order would last arose this last week.
Attorneys representing the ALCU of Iowa asked the court for a 14-day extension to the temporary injunction. The ACLU's legal director sent KCCI a statement, explaining why this move was made.
"We filed the motion to ensure that the temporary injunction would be in place long enough for the court to rule on the pending motion for a preliminary injunction. Otherwise, it's possible, although not certain, that the courts would treat the existing temporary restraining order as a preliminary injunction for purposes of an appeal. This request is meant to ensure the most clarity for everyone." -Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU legal director
Documents show that the next day, an attorney representing Gov. Kim Reynolds responded to that request asking the court to resist the motion.
KCCI did reach out to the governor's office on Friday, but did not hear back.