A ruling from Sangamon County last Friday throws suburban Chicago schools into chaos

An Illinois judge's ruling on mask mandates in schools that came in late Friday forced districts to make quick decisions over the weekend

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

The ruling was announced at the end of the day on Friday, February 4th. The judge in Sangamon County had ruled against Governor JB Pritzker's mask requirements inside school buildings after hearing oral arguments in a lawsuit involving over 150 school districts in Illinois. The parents had filed the suit last year against the governor and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The ruling has created confusion among Chicago suburban schools, with questions remaining as to whether the ruling affects the entire state of Illinois, only the school districts mentioned, or only the plaintiffs.

In the 30 page ruling, the judge wrote, “It is clear IDPH/ISBE were attempting to force local school districts to comply with this guidance without any compliance with rulemaking. This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain."

Pritzker quickly responded to the ruling, vowing in a statement to seek an expedited appeal.

"The grave consequence of this misguided decision is that schools in these districts no longer have sufficient tools to keep students and staff safe while COVID-19 continues to threaten our communities - and this may force schools to go remote," said Pritzker. "This shows yet again that the mask mandate and school exclusion protocols are essential tools to keep schools open and everyone safe. As we have from the beginning of the pandemic, the administration will keep working to ensure every Illinoisan has the tools needed to keep themselves and their loved ones safe."

The decision, made right before the weekend, left school boards in the state with little time to decide whether masks should be required or not come Monday morning.

The result was a patchwork of decisions coming in over the weekend to parents at the last minute. With some districts keeping the mandate, some going mask-optional, some only going mask optional for the named plaintiffs in the trial, and some calling an emergency day to take more time to review the implications of the ruling.

Chicago Public Schools are one of the districts keeping universal mask requirements for students, teachers, and staff. But suburban schools remain widely divided.

In addition to dropping the mask mandate, the ruling has led some districts to end quarantines for close contacts and contact tracing.

Evidence has shown that mitigations such as mask-wearing, distancing, and sanitation have led to lower rates of cases in schools. The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend universal masking in schools.

According to the AAP, "The AAP recommends universal masking in school, with special attention to indoor masking. Face masks can stop the virus from spreading to those who may be at higher risk of getting sick. Spread of the virus has been observed more often in schools that did not require universal masking."

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