The Illinois State Board of Education’s approval this week of a resolution requiring all public school students return to in-person classes this fall has some wondering if remote learning won’t be an option for unvaccinated kids or parents who want it.
Both Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 are doing in-person classes on a full-time basis right now, and had planned to have most students back in school for the 2021-22 school year, officials said.
And the District 203 teachers union is on board with that, said Dan Iverson, president of the Naperville Unit Education Association said.
“We are unanimous in the belief in-person learning is the best route for kids,” Iverson said. “Assuming we are on the course right now, what ISBE did this week is something we support.”
But what’s not clear is what the resolution means for remote learning, and those parents who might prefer it for their younger children who won’t be vaccinated for COVID-19 by August.
The other issue is how the districts are to handle situations in which a student or group of students must be quarantined because of COVID-19 exposure.
In social media posts, the state school board noted that what was approved Wednesday was a resolution, not a mandate. “(It) does not affect policy; policy will change when (State Superintendent Carmen Ayala) makes the declaration.”
Ayala is expected to say more on the topic before this school year ends in June.
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The resolution does say “remote instruction (should) be made available for students who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and are under a quarantine order by a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health.”
The snag would seem to be that students need to meet both qualifications in order to qualify.
Indian Prairie provided forms this week to gauge family interest in remote learned, Superintendent Adrian Talley. He acknowledged the ISBE’s resolution may alter their plans.
“We have to wait and see what the (frequently asked questions) are from the state about the resolution,” he said in an email response. “The devil is in the details and those details will come when we see the FAQs.”
District 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges, also responding via email, said they’ll know more when a clarification on the medical eligibility exemption is released.
A parent survey conducted in April indicated about 4% of respondents planned to apply for remote learning, Bridges said.
“Based on the resolution presented at the ISBE meeting, we expect the number of students eligible for remote learning will be limited,” he said.
Laura Stout is a parent who kept her second-grade son in remote learning despite Indian Prairie shifting back to in-person instruction in April. The Naperville resident said her son benefited from the arrangement and she’d like to see it continue.
However, because her son is unlikely to qualify for e-learning, she’s now considering homeschooling, she said.
Before she makes those plans, however, Stout said she hopes they’ll get more information on if remote learning is going to be an option. She’d also like to know whether COVID-19 safety precautions, like mask usage and social distancing, will continue, she said.
“We’ve already done this (remote learning) experiment. Why not keep trying to make it a viable option?” Stout said.
Lindsay Casten’s youngest daughter would likely qualify for remote learning at District 203, but she expects all three of her children will head back to school in the fall. They couldn’t wait to get back to their classrooms this spring, she said.
“They were just beaming, glowing,” the Naperville resident said. “We absolutely are very happy, we don’t regret the decision we made.”
That said, she does agree that remote learning should continue to be an option. “I think to me it sounds very reasonable. People should be allowed the choice,” Casten said.
Bridges said not knowing what the state will ultimately dictate is hard.
“We understand the frustrations our families are experiencing and we’ll continue to work and advocate to ensure that there is clearer guidelines, clearer expectations and clearer communication,” he said.