Decorah School Superintendent Mark Lane says he is "disappointed" in the Iowa Department of Education's lack of guidance on school district reopenings this fall

The Iowa Department of Education has released its guidelines for "Return to School" this fall--and Decorah School Superintendent Mark Lane says he is disappointed in the lack of direction provided by the document.

In an e-mail to parents of children in the Decorah Community School District, Lane said, "I was disappointed with the lack of substance, and unfortunately, a follow-up webinar with Department of Education officials did not provide more information or greater clarity."

As a result, Decorah School District leaders are going beyond what the state has suggested.  Says Lane, "Please know, we are not relying solely on the Iowa Department of Education to tell us how to operate as a district.  We will continue to seek relevant information and guidance from varied sources."

The local document is intended to provide an overview of what information is guiding local plans and how the school district is making decisions.  Says Lane, "This document does not say what we will be doing on August 24. I wish I had the ability to predict the future, and to be able to say with certainty what back-to-school will bring.  We will continue to plan for a variety of scenarios, and will be agile in our ability to move between plans."

School district officials are promising they will make final decisions by August 10th.

The Decorah Community School District's Return to Learn Summary is linked here.