As a court ruling put in limbo, at least for the time being, a mask mandate at many school districts throughout the state, some south and southwest suburban districts were taking varied approaches to the temporary restraining order.
The decision Friday by a Downstate judge temporarily halted enforcement of Gov. J.B. Pritzker in about 150 of the state’s approximately 840 school districts, with the state appealing the ruling.
Some southwest suburban districts named as defendants in the lawsuit, in response to the judge’s ruling, suspended mask mandates Monday while continuing to maintain other COVID-19 protocols, such as social distancing, hand washing regimens and sanitizing.
Elementary districts including Homer District 33C, Burbank District 111, North Palos District 117, New Lenox District 122, Worth District 127 and Orland District 135, were among those named as defendants and which relaxed masking requirements.
Following an emergency school board meeting Saturday, Frankfort District 157C said it would make masks optional, but will provide child-size KN95 masks to families who want their children to continue to mask. In a letter to families, the district noted the lawsuit doesn’t name the Illinois Elementary School Association as a defendant, and that students and staff would continue to wear masks in association-sanctioned activities, such as sports.
Matt Moeller, picking up his nephew Monday at High Point Elementary in Orland Park, said he wishes the mask mandate “would just go away for good.” He said his nephew was not a fan of having to wear them in school.
“He said it was just a general pain to wear,” Moeller said.
Staci Andrews said her daughter, a fourth grader, had always “complained about hard it is trying to talk to the teacher with it on.”
“I know they had to do this” as far as the district following the governor’s mandate, but “I don’t know if masks really do much to keep people safe,” Andrews said.
Some students walking out of the building were without masks while others hand them on or draped down on their chin.
Monica Cartwright said she has disagreed with the mandate for schools and other places from the start and toyed with the idea of home schooling before the school year started.
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“They shouldn’t have had it in the first place,” she said. “I hope it’s gone for good.”
Regardless of the district, masks are still required to be worn by students on school buses, which come under a different federal mandate.
High school districts named in the lawsuit were taking a very narrow stance on the temporary restraining order.
Lockport Township District 205 said it is still requiring masks, with the exception of students who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but it was not immediately clear how many students that involved.
Outside the high school Monday morning, a small group of people gathered in protest of the mask mandate.
High School District 218, which has Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Richards in Oak Lawn and Shepard in Palos Heights, said it would continue to impose the mask order with the exception of one student who is a plaintiff in the case.
High School District 230, with Carl Sandburg in Orland Park, Stagg in Palos Hills and Andrew in Tinley Park, said that seven district students are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and while it was recommending that students and staff who haven’t been vaccinated continue to wear masks, they would be optional under the judge’s decision.
The district also said it would no longer require quarantining of students or staff in close-contact cases unless COVID-19 symptoms occur.
Although not a defendant in the case, Lincoln-Way High School District 210, with schools in Frankfort and New Lenox, said it was adopting a mask-optional policy.
Because of the publicity the temporary restraining order had received, some Southland school districts, including Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 and Forest Ridge 142 in Oak Forest, posted notices at their websites letting families know that their districts were not part of the lawsuit and that masking would still be the norm.
Orland District 135, also in response to the temporary restraining order, said it would halt contact tracing and quarantining of students and staff in instances of close contact. Superintendent John Bryk said that students and staff quarantined due to close contact are able to return to school provided they’re not exhibiting symptoms.
The superintendent noted that with further court action to come in the case, the question of whether the temporary restraining order will stand is yet to be answered. Bryk also told families in a letter that not all students and faculty might decide to jettison masks.
“These next few days and the potential for additional rulings in the coming weeks will provide new challenges for our families, students and staff,” he said. “I ask everyone please be kind to each other and respect the choices of families, students and staff when it comes to masking.”
Before the start of the school year and Pritzker’s mask mandate in early August, some school districts were planning to reopen without masks being required. Following the governor’s mask order, parents rallied against it and urged school districts to defy the governor.
District 230 Superintendent Bob Nolting, in a message to families, said the pandemic has “created a difficult situation where our school community continues to be fractured.”
Like Bryk, he asked that those on both sides of the mask matter be respectful.
“Any comments, criticism, or harassing individuals based on their choice regarding masking will be absolutely not tolerated,” Nolting wrote.