A judge’s recent ruling that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mask mandate was authorized illegally has had little effect in the Oak Park, River Forest, Elmwood Park and Franklin Park area, as schools in those communities said they are continuing the status quo of mask mandates and having anyone with a positive COVID-19 test isolate from others.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed an appeal Monday, demanding a stay to Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow’s Friday Feb. 4 decision to grant a request from downstate attorney Tom DeVore to temporarily roll back the governor’s executive orders on masking and quarantining for schools.
Oak Park District 97
While some Illinois school districts, whether named in the lawsuit or not, are dropping requirements for students, teachers and staff to observes COVID mitigations, Oak Park School District 97 co-superintendents Grif Powell and Patricia Wernet wrote to school families over the weekend, “District 97 is not party to the lawsuit. Therefore, there are no changes to our current safety mitigations. We ask that students, staff and families continue to comply with these measures unless or until we advise the community of a change. We are in consultation with our attorneys and will continue to update you on any related developments as a result of the appeal.”
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Leyden Township High School District 212
In Franklin Park and Northlake, Nick Polyak, superintendent of Leyden Township High School District 212, told school families that the district was not a party to the lawsuit.
“The ruling resulted in a temporary restraining order that removed the requirement of masks for specific students and staff in some other schools and mandatory vaccines or testing procedures for those specific school employees,” he wrote. “This ruling does not apply to Leyden. The current executive order requiring masks in schools and mandatory vaccination or testing for school employees remains in effect at Leyden at this time, as do all of our current mitigation measures.”
Oak Park and River Forest High School
District 200 Superintendent Greg Johnson’s letter to the school community stated, “Oak Park and River Forest High School is not named in the lawsuit. As a result, there are no changes to our existing safety mitigations. All students, employees, and visitors must continue to comply with these measures.”
Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
“This ruling does not impact District 401 as we were not one of the 140 school districts listed in the lawsuit,” wrote District 401 Superintendent Leah Gauthier. We will continue to enforce the executive order requirements relating to masking, school exclusions, and employee testing.
River Forest School District 90
District 90 Superintendent Ed Condon wrote to school families, “There will be no changes at this time to the safety mitigations/protocols in River Forest District 90 since D90 is not a party in this lawsuit. All individuals should continue to follow the current safety protocols that are being implemented in our schools as the District continues to learn more about any potential implications in the future.”
‘Continue public health protocols’
In her ruling, the judge sided with about 700 parents who signed onto a lawsuit against 146 school districts alleging that students who object to wearing masks or being excluded from school for being a COVID-19 close contact are entitled to due process. A second lawsuit challenging the vaccine or test mandate for school district employees was filed against 21 districts.
While the restraining order only applied to families, staff members and school districts that are part of the litigation, the judge also found that the state’s emergency rules implementing the mandates were void, leading to a range of responses from local school districts. Some are going mask optional or recommended, while others are exempting only those students whose parents signed onto the lawsuit from wearing masks.
Pritzker on Monday said school districts that aren’t named as defendants in the lawsuit “should continue to follow the prescribed public health protocols, which have proven to reduce school exclusion rates and have made it possible for our kids to continue learning safely in person.”
“You ought to err on the side of protecting everybody in the school and particularly all the people who interact with the school,” Prirtzker said. “That’s the goal here. That was always the goal.”