JBPritzker,Illinois State Board of Education superintendent Carmen Ayala and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, as defendants. "We're really excited for that," said father of three Michael Lafido. Only children 12 and over are currently eligible for COVID vaccines. J.B. Pritzker in October 2021. Parents from eight Peoria-area school districts are participating in a lawsuit aimed at abolishing mask requirements in schools. This time, parents sued the school districts, IDPH, ISBE and Gov. J.B. Pritzker's statewide mask mandate. Now that the judge has made her widely-anticipated ruling, what are the next steps? Our children and their families need certainty and some normalcy at school, not legal wrangling managed by a small minority of citizens.We urge the judge to stay her ruling and the state to appeal it as soon as possible. People seem to be leaving to states with an improved business climate, lower taxes, and we would also say because that states with the worst government finances seem to be losing population the most, Weinberg said. Hundreds of Peoria teachers, staff haven't taken COVID vaccine, district says, A Peoria teacher quits and the video goes viral, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. . Heres what we know so far. It made sense to consolidate all of them, he said, except for two lawsuits outside of Central Illinois. This shows yet again that the mask mandate and school exclusion protocols are essential tools to keep schools open and everyone safe. J.B. Pritzkers emergency rules for COVID-19 mitigations in schools null and void, effectively stopping the states mask mandate in school buildings. "Within her ruling, Judge Grischow, recognizes the independent authority of school districts," Supt. A few days later, however, District 12 in Breese a pre-K through 8th grade district announced it was going mask-optional for the upcoming school year. Though the statewide mask mandate . In St. Charles, district officials have also decided to cancel classes and use an emergency day Monday. "Their goal is to intimidate you," one parent said. TAYLOR RIDGE, Ill. Mask requirements, quarantine, COVID-19 vaccination mandates, and testing rules are temporarily blocked for Illinois schools following a judge's ruling on Feb 4. Previously:Class action lawsuit filed in Macoupin County takes aim at schools mask requirementsThe 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, Class action lawsuit filed in Macoupin County takes aim at , Class action lawsuit filed in Macoupin County takes aim at schools mask requirementsParents are taking aim at over 140 school districts around Illinois, including Ball-Chatham, over COVID-19 mask requirements and exclusion of studentsfrom schools.Aclass action lawsuit was filed by Greenville attorney Thomas DeVore at the Macoupin County courthouse in Carlinville Wednesday.The 11-count complaint also names Gov. Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow issued the order Friday afternoon in a lawsuit brought by hundreds of parents in more than 145 school districts who claim the mask order denies students due process. Illinois has about 850 districts Leslie Renken can be reached at(309) 370-5087orlrenken@pjstar.com. Pritzker said students and staff would no longer be required to wear masks at Illinois schools starting Feb. 28 after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to take up the case. And we will stand with our local unions to protect our members and the students they serve. ", According to these parents, Pritzker has continuously issued, "one-man edicts, mandates, orders, and one size fits all guidance," throughout the pandemic. As one of the districts named in the lawsuit that resulted in the temporary restraining order, administrators said removing the mask mandate for their schools was a legal decision. Illinois schools from requiring people to wear face masks in classes and excluding students and staff from school buildings if they've had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | Rochester Superintendent Dan Cox said he communicated with parents and guardians after the TRO was announced. "We're seeing it in so many places, tens of thousands of schools across the country, have been mask optional all year long.". How many Illinois school districts are mask optional? "Our primary goal is to educate our kids and do that in a safe environment and that's something we've been doing, and we take very seriously.". The State has completed over 2 million COVID-19 tests in schools through the SHIELD program and sent more than a million rapid tests into schools outside of the City of Chicago. A spokeswoman for Gov. Parents from Dunlap, two school districts in Metamora, Germantown Hills, Eureka, Brimfield, Mortonand Limestone in Bartonville are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. All Rights Reserved. . But on July 27, the CDC reversed its guidance, recommending masking in schools, even for for fully vaccinated people, as the Delta variant rises and new studies were published about the possibility of rare breakthrough infections due to the strain's mutation. Others think it is time to lift the mandate. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All rights reserved, A downstate Illinois judge issued a ruling declaring Gov. CHICAGO AREA, IL Masks in schools have been a topic of debate for parents since face coverings first became required for kids attending school in Illinois. Recently, the State provided 350,000 rapid tests to Chicago Public Schools to facilitate a return to in person learning.To increase access to the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccination, the State has held 1,767 on-site vaccination clinics in schools and day camps with an additional 470 clinics already scheduled. J.B.. But emotions boiled over a meeting in Naperville Monday night. Geneva Community United School District 304 said it will cancel classes Monday, explaining implementing an emergency day is in its best interest. Also going "mask optional" are large suburban public school districts across the area, including those in Schaumburg, Elmhurst, Arlington Heights, Barrington and Wheaton, where Shannon Limjuco has two elementary school grade children. Area school districts named in the lawsuit were Ball-Chatham, Carrollton, Mount Pulaski, Petersburg PORTA, Jacksonville, North Mac, Carlinville and Staunton. mostrarti annunci e contenuti personalizzati in base ai profili di interesse; misurare l'efficacia di annunci e contenuti personalizzati; sviluppare e migliorare i nostri prodotti e servizi. "We have heard from all sides throughout the pandemic about their feelings regarding masking and the quarantine.". Other parents who added their names to the complaint include six from Germantown Hills School District 69; 13from Eureka Community Unit District 140; 10 from Metamora Community Consolidated School District 1; seven from Brimfield Community Unit School District 309; nine from Morton Community Unit School District 709; four from Limestone Community High School District 310. The restraining order, which went into effect Friday afternoon, voidedemergency rules from the Illinois Board of Education requiring regular testing or proof of vaccination from school staff. When Judge Grischow announced her decision on 4:45 p.m. on Friday, her 29-page ruling didn't settle the questions about masking in school. J.B. Pritzker. Craven said schools are different because most younger students are unvaccinated or can't be vaccinated age-wise and movement is different in schools versus workplaces. Patti Rojek told her 13-year-old son Sam to keep wearing his. In part, the law says it has general supervision of the interests of the health, and lives of the people of the state. Five days later, Pritzker's statewide school mask mandate undid that decision, including for the child of the plaintiff in DeVore's case. Oxford Community Schools and its staff are shielded from such civil litigation by state law under the doctrine of governmental immunity, Oakland County . The case is a culmination of several others filed statewide by Attorney Tom DeVore. The Fourth District Appellate Court ruled early Friday that Illinois' indoor mask requirement in schools has expired and the appeal made by the Illinois attorney general against a temporary. The judge's decision covers districts across the state but not Chicago Public Schools. At what point as a society do we say let's try to go back to normal? DeVore was in the process of writing a temporary restraining order in the latest lawsuit Thursday afternoon. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate being found null and void by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow Feb. 4. Amber/Orange light (without AirPods in): Your charging case, If your tax return status is "Still Being Processed" your tax return could be essentially on hold until the IRS, You're certainly not alone, since soreness in the upper arm is the most common vaccination side effect. It has supreme authority in matters of quarantine and isolation. "Really, the sole purpose of the plan is to provide stability for our schools so we don't get caught in this flipping back and forth between legal cases because those are out of our control and we wanted to focus on what we could control," Cox said. "I chose to head to the auditorium without my mask on and really didn't want to go home, I felt it was our right to stay here without our masks per the ruling on a Friday," said senior Sydney Pjesky. SEE ALSO | Restaurant vaccine mandate, indoor mask rules could end 'soon' if COVID cases stay in free fall. First, that students and teachers cannot be required to wear masks while in school buildings or be excluded from school premises after close contact exposure to COVID-19, absent consent or a full evidentiary hearing and court order entered pursuant to the procedures contained in Section 2 of the Illinois Department of Public Health Act. legislative committee Tuesdaynot renewing the mask mandate, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Since the TRO was issued, most local and area school districts, including Springfield District 186, Ball-Chatham and Rochester, have "encouraged" or recommended wearing of masks. Administration spokesperson Jordan Abudayyehsaid the governor was "concerned for the health of those in schoolsparticularly vulnerable children and adultsand the ability to continue in-person learning. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is seeking an appeal of a judge's ruling temporarily blocking the state from enforcing a mask mandate at dozens of school districts. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health have won an injunction against three school districts who said they did not need to mandate face masks for in-person learning . Parents from Dunlap, two school districts in Metamora, Germantown Hills, Eureka, Brimfield, Mortonand Limestone in Bartonville are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.The 11-county complaint names 140 school districts, Gov. I think it's this document that has a list of the plaintiffs. MASK AND EXCLUSION POLICIES. What the ruling does. "We have had parent contact at board meetings and had conversations with a variety of parents, including the ones listed not all of them but also additional parents who have shared their concerns on both sides of the issue with the district," O'Laughlin said. "Why are you continuing to enforce a mandate that is null and void?" Parents came armed with no mask signs, American flags and their children to protest mask mandates as school district employees looked down at them from their offices. "I'm upset," Limjuco said. Both districts are among dozens of schools systems that are defendants in legal challenges waged by downstate attorney Tom DeVore, who argued Pritzker exceeded his authority with requirements that students and teachers wear masks inside schools, that unvaccinated school employees provide negative COVID-19 test results and that close contacts of infected people stay home. A judge in downstate Sangamon County granted a temporary restraining order Friday effectively prohibiting mask requirements for students in numerous school districts across the state. 2 in September. Parents from eight Peoria-area school districts are participating in a lawsuit aimed at abolishing mask requirements in schools. The TRO granted by 7th Judicial Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow in Sangamon County court covered separate lawsuits, but it did declare the emergency rules implemented by IDPH and the Illinois State Board of Education on Sept. 17 regarding mask mandates for students and teachers "void" and that school districtsmay "govern themselves accordingly.". J.B. Pritzker, who issued the mask mandate in August, said Thursday it's hard to say what the ruling will be. Complaint filed . Illinois school districts will be deciding whether or not to make masks optional after a judge ruled against the state's mandate. Location may have been the reasoning, DeVore added, but he said he cant remember who suggested Macoupin County. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Justice John Turner wrote the order. For others, the mask optional decision was long overdue. What exactly happened with the ruling? Governor Pritzker has asked the Illinois Attorney General's office for an immediate appeal of Judge Grischow's decision to restrain the State from enforcing the safety measures aimed at protecting teachers, school personnel, students and communities from COVID-19.The Attorney General is seeking an expedited appeal from the Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court. It also voids rules from theIllinois Department of Public Health outlining a schools obligation to exclude students from school who have confirmed cases of COVID-19 or are a close contact to someone with COVID-19. READ: Judge Raylene Grischows full ruling here. The outcome of the lawsuit will impact school districts across the state, including in Central Illinois. This shows yet again that the mask mandate and school exclusion protocols are essential tools to keep schools open and everyone safe.. All this is prompted by Gov. "Kind of uncomfortable because I'll know that they're more likely to get sick and they're more likely to pass it to me," Rojek said. CHICAGO (WLS) -- On Monday, Chicago Public Schools parents Kelley Escamilla and her husband gave their 3rd and 6th graders a choice: Go to school and wear a mask or don't. They didn't wear masks . Pritzker. The class action lawsuit against 140 school districts. "This shows yet again that the mask mandate and school exclusion protocols are essential tools to keep schools open and everyone safe. Example video title will go here for this video. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) Parents from 145 school districts in Illinois are suing Gov. J.B. Pritzker, ISBE and 16 school districts in Lake and McHenry counties over the states school mask mandate and other COVID rules. "We recognize the challenges this decision may have on our families, but given the fluidity of the situation we strongly feel that this time is necessary to effectively plan for any potential impact on our students, staff, and school community," said Dr. Kent Mutchler, superintendent. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, p An Illinois appellate court late Thursday evening dismissed Gov. At least one Illinois school district has canceled classes for Monday and many others have decided to recommend masks. Illinois schools were scrambling to react after a ruling by a downstate judge Friday placed a temporary restraining order on Gov. But a just-filed lawsuit could void that statewide executive order. Around the state, it set off widely varying reactions by school districts, some of whom called off classes in the wake of the confusion. But the state's top court . ", More:Illinois mask mandate for most indoor settings will be lifted by the end of the month. New Ranking Names Most Expensive Cities In Illinois and These Chicago Suburbs Top the List, Chicago Suburb Lands on List of Happiest Places to Live,' Another Midwest City Makes Top 10, Chicago-Area Counties Under Winter Storm Advisories and Warnings, Stomach Bug Cases Surging, Sending People to Emergency Rooms in Chicago Area. While some districts continue to isolate students from class for not wearing masks, other schools across the state went mask optional this last week. Between vitriol, tears and begging for mask choice, just a few parents and a teacher stepped up to back the board's decision to keep masks mandatory for now. The superintendent of District 122 in Metamora said they were aware of the lawsuit, but not in any official capacity. The parents from District 203 read from the temporary restraining order. More than two dozen Illinois school districts are on probation after flouting the statewide mask requirements for staff and students inside schools. The group of parents released a statement on Oct. 25, 2021, through attorney Thomas DeVore regarding the lawsuit. That bill, HB 2789, passed the Illinois House on party lines in April, but never received a vote on the Senate floor this spring before the legislature adjourned. FOR WHICH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN BASE THEIR. Because it will never be perfect.". The lawsuit against the 146 schooldistricts was originally filed in Macoupin County in October.