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A declaration under 28 U.S.C. § 1746 filed September 3, 2021 as Document 3-10 in Case 4:21-cv-00264-RP-HCA by a parent who states she is a member of the ARC of Iowa. The declarant describes her children's attendance at schools in the Ankeny School District and the district's 100% remote learning option through a vendor called Edgenuity, which she states does not meet her child's needs. She describes the district's arrangements after the mask mandate ban and reports that the district's dashboard showed 7 staff and 15 students testing positive as of August 31, 2021. The declaration states that she is seeking to have the Iowa law blocked so that her school can require universal masking. It cites a physician's letter as Exhibit A and is four pages.

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      Case 4:21-cv-00264-RP-HCA Document 3-10 Filed 09/03/21 Page 1 of 4



                        DECLARATION OF AMANDA DEVEREAUX

      . COMES NOW, Amanda Devereaux and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declares under

penalty of petjury that the following is true and conect:

    1. My name is Amanda Devereaux, and I am over 18 years old. I have personal knowledge

        of the facts as stated herein.

    2. I am a member of the ARC of Iowa.

    3. I am the mother of P.D., who is 5 years old and in kindergarten and has symptomatic

        congenital cytomegalorvirus, polymicrogyria ; epilepsy, feeding delay, expressive and

        language delay,,nonverbal, hearing loss, gross and fine motor skill delays, and uses a

        feeding tube. P.D. was born with a brain malformation, which was caused intellectual

        and developmental delays to the extent that she operates at a 1-year-old level.

    4. I also have another child, A.D., who is not ·disabled and has no health conditions, who is

        9 years old and in_3'd grade. ,      JJ l        J 1   • I


    5. Because my children are under the age of 12, they are,not eligible to receive any of the

        currently authorized Covid-19 vaccines.     1)
                                                                     ,,,)
    6. My children attend school at the Ankeny School District. W.e live in Polk County, Iowa .

   7. P .D. 's medical provider Doctor Mark Schleiss, is a pediatrician at the University of

       Minnesota and specializes in infectious diseases. See Exhibit A (Letter from Doctor

       Mark Schleiss). Bec_ause of P.D.'s diagnosis of symptomatic congenital ,

       cytomegalovirus, Dr. Schleiss states that P.D. 1) is at higher risk for serious and fatal

       CG>VID-19disease, 2) has animmune system that is affected by the condition, and 3)

       should not be forced to stay at home and be deprived of learning. See Exhibit A (Letter

       from Doctor Mark Schleiss). In addition, Dr. Schleiss has said that unless all students are
  Case 4:21-cv-00264-RP-HCA Document 3-10 Filed 09/03/21 Page 2 of 4



   wearing masks it is not safe for P.D.at school during the COVID-19 pandemic. See

   Exhibit A. (Letter from Dr. Schleiss ). lDr. Schleiss has also emphasized that there is no

   evidence that mask wearing has any negative impact on a child 's well-being. See Exhibit

   A (Letter from Dr. Schleiss) .                                'J


8. The Ankeny School District for the upcoming school year is offering a 100% remote

   learning option for elementary school aged students through a third-party vendor , called

   Edgenuity . Edgenuity uses pre-recorded videos; there is no live teacher instruction and

   students must be able to self-pace . This remote learning option does 11-ot
                                                                             provide the

   necessary supports, services, and accommodations P.D. needs, including direct

   instruction and socialization with·peers. In-person instruction provides the best mode of

   instruction for P.D. , given her needs.                                 I,     j   t

9. P .D. attended school in-person last year because the Ankeny School District required

   masks. When the mask mandate ban went into effect for schoo1s, I kept>P .D. in school

   only because the persons working with her voluntarily wore masks, but I pulled A.D. out

   of in-person school because it was no longer safe considering the lack of a mask mandate

   and his sibling's medical conditions.                    ••        ')



I 0. I reached out to the Ankeny School District about my concerns about masking at the

   school. The district agreed that'persons at the school would '.bevoluntarily masked while

   doing special education services with P.D. for 2 Yihours a day for 4 days a week. P.D.

   would be in a smaller classroom and be socially distanced from other students. The

   district ,will not be able to do core cmriculum at school due to not being able to require all

   students to wear masks ; therefore , my husband and I would be responsible for doing core

  instruction at home. We do not think us doing core instruction for P .D. at home is best
             Case 4:21-cv-00264-RP-HCA Document 3-10 Filed 09/03/21 Page 3 of 4
   for her educatioo.
           ,.         We only agreed to provide core instruction at home because

   school is not a safe--environment for P.O. without 1nask require·ments. If the

   district were able to require 1nasks, we believe P.O. should be getting her core

   instruction at school. We are not equipped to modify kindergarten curriculu1n for

   our child with an intellectual disability at home, and we both work full-time

   remotely, which makes providing the core instruction 1nore difficult.

11. At the meet the teacher night before the beginning of school this year, teachers were

   wearing masks, but only about 5% of parents and students were wearing masks.

12. As of August 31, 2021, the Ankeny School District's Covid-19 dashboard shows 7

   staff and 15 students district wide have tested positive for Covid-19.

13. For this school year, we have made the difficult decision to send P.D. to in-person

   school and have A.D. do online learning to lessen the risk that A.D. is exposed to

   COVID-19 and brings it home. We can't keep P.D. home because for her online

   learning is not an option; she can't self-pace while doing Edginuity given her

   multiple health conditions and developmental delays. My husband and I work

   full-time remotely and so we can't pick up the instruction.

14. My husband has ulcerative colitis and takes medication that suppresses his immune

   system, which makes him more susceptible to Covid-19 if our children were to

   become infected at school and bring it home.

15. I believe that if everyone was wearing a mask and the school was following the

   guidance and recommendations from the CDC, P.D. would be safe in school.

16. As a result of Iowa's law, my child is having to take unnecessary risks to her health

   in order to get an education.
      Case 4:21-cv-00264-RP-HCA Document 3-10 Filed 09/03/21 Page 4 of 4




   17. I am seeking to have HF84 7 blocked so that my school will be able to require universal

       masking as necessary to meet its obligations to my child.

       I swear under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is

true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

       Dates this U\~day of September 2021, at Ankeny, Iowa.




                                                    -hf4JJ.'1!- l,L/?J}AlJ)A
                                                      andaevereaux, Plaintifi7
                                                                               ~


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