Superintendent's Message, Feb. 16, 2022

  • Posted February 16, 2022

District 96 Community:

Unfortunately, the events of the last 24 hours have diminished our schools’ ability to implement the thoughtful plan that was designed to prepare and support both staff and students in our transition to a masking-optional learning environment.  Sudden shifts, like the one that occurred today, can be confusing and unsettling for some of our students and parents.  Our school staff have done a tremendous job today under difficult circumstances as they have navigated this sudden change.

We encourage you to take this opportunity to make the best decision for your family regarding masking and discuss this with your children so they are clear as to your wishes.  Please understand that teachers cannot reasonably be expected to monitor or enforce student compliance with family preferences regarding mask wearing.  We will be mindful to give students reminders to adhere to their family preference.  
We deeply respect the fact that the choice to mask or not is entirely a family choice; on that note, it is entirely inappropriate for any adult to coax, coerce, or make suggestions directed at students, other than your own, about a student’s mask choice in school.  Our staff will continue to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students regardless of their personal mask choice.  
As always, we will work with families who have individual health concerns.  Please contact your child’s school should you need further assistance.  

A link to the Superintendent Update from last evening’s Board of Education meeting discussing the current landscape of COVID-19 mitigations can be found here (https://vimeo.com/678205632). Some of you have asked for additional clarity regarding what transpired yesterday and some of those answers are below.

Is the Governor’s Executive Order still in effect regarding masking in schools and if so, why did things change?

Yes. The order is still in effect but the school district’s ability to enforce such measures has changed (see below).

The emergency rules issued by IDPH and ISBE were issued on September 17, 2021.  Those rules expired 150 days later, which was February 14, 2022.  IDPH did not take formal rulemaking action related to the emergency rules.  Instead, IDPH sought to reissue the rules in emergency form, which was rejected by JCAR pending the outcome of the TRO before the appellate court.

The expiration of the IDPH emergency rules without renewal effectively prevents the District from continuing mitigation strategies which exclude or quarantine asymptomatic students.   The practical outcome is that our ability to enforce the mask mandate by sending students home has been compromised.  Thus, we have asked the community to respect our identified timelines for implementation of “masking optional” but we cannot, as of today, enforce it.  We have asked the community to respect our identified timelines for implementation of “masking optional” but we cannot, as of today, enforce it.

We anticipate further communication about the Appellate Court decisions at the end of this week.  After we receive the decision and have had the opportunity to analyze its impact with our legal counsel, we will provide a full update to the community.  Again, it was our desire to maintain the timelines we set forth in order to give families and staff the opportunity to engage in a supportive transition to a mask-optional but recommended environment and, given the recent developments, we renew our plea for kindness and respect.

Regards,

Julie Schmidt, District 96 Superintendent of Schools