Superintendent's Message, Feb. 18, 2022

Welcome to Friday!   As promised earlier this week, we are providing an update on legal rulings.   
  • As previously communicated, on Tuesday, February 15, the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) blocked the reissuance of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) emergency rules for Covid protocols that were implemented by JCAR on September 17, 2021 and that were renewed on February 14. 

  • Last evening, the 4th District Appellate Court of Illinois dismissed the appeal of an earlier Circuit Court order on Covid related emergency rules issued by two state agencies and Covid related measures in the Governor’s Executive Orders. The Governor’s Executive Order regarding masking in schools remains the subject of continuing litigation as the recent circuit court ruling was on a temporary restraining order (TRO).

Although the Governor’s current Executive Order regarding masking in schools remains in effect until at least March 5, the failure to extend the IDPH emergency rules by JCAR and the ruling by the Appellate Court have raised a significant legal issue regarding the District’s continued authority to enforce the Governor’s mask mandate.  

Please note that there continues to be pending litigation and school districts continue to be required to respond to the direction of other state agencies.  All school districts, including District 96, will continue to seek the guidance of counsel and respond to future decisions and requirements.

Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) federal order, masks are still required on school buses (i.e., public transportation). Further, the CDC and IDPH continue to strongly recommend wearing a surgical or KN95/N95 mask in schools, and we will maintain a supply of high quality masks for faculty, staff and students in school offices. 

We can and will maintain many of our other mitigation strategies, including optional PCR screening, testing on campus for symptomatic individuals, high quality airflow and ventilation, hand hygiene, and social distancing. Additionally, any student or staff member who tests positive for Covid-19 must continue to stay home for at least 5 days and be symptom free before returning.

Let’s all take a deep breath and enjoy the long weekend.

 

Regards,

 ~ Julie Schmidt, District 96 Superintendent of School