Three regular walls and a plastic wall is the environment that is in the nurse’s office at Chiddix Jr. High. Several photos of this room have been sent to Cities and parents have been concerned about isolation of unmask students and the fire hazards that come with having a plastic wall.
“This is a welding curtain that allows the students to sit in the nurse’s office but still be visible by the nurse. Students are not isolated, it is a hanging curtain with an open side,” said Unit 5 Communications Director Dayna Brown.
According to Unit 5, this curtain has been in place for almost 18 months and they have had two fire inspections at the school during that time.
Those inspections were done by the Normal Fire Department and Regional Office of Education.
According to parents, this room was used to keep children away from the rest of the student population when exposed to a close contact. Now with the unmasking of children statewide, some non-compliant students have been told to stay in this room upon further review of the non-compliance of masking.
“While it’s a little hard to assess the impact of what appears to be a plastic curtain, I don’t see where it compromises any critical life safety elements. Generally, the public schools are regulated by the Regional Office of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education,” said Town of Normal Director of Inspections Greg Troemel.
“In many districts they may use a curtain to section off an area, but that would not allow visibility for the student or staff,” said Brown.
New Lawsuit to be filed today, Feb. 14 2022
A new lawsuit was filed today, Feb. 14 with the William Gerber Law Office out of Fairbury, IL. Funds of about $5,500 have been raised.This lawsuit address the non-named plaintiffs in the ruling issued by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow. The state of Illinois plans to appeal the decision, Pritzker said, calling the judge’s decision “misguided.”
This lawyer, Gerber, has worked alongside Thomas DeVore as well.
This story is developing and will be updated
