UPDATED:
A Sangamon County ruling, lawsuits filed naming Unit 5 and a legislative panel voting against the mandates in schools all faced Unit 5 today ahead of their special board meeting tonight at 4:30 p.m. at Normal West, which has since been cancelled.
JCAR voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, including mandated masking.
Unit 5 sent out an email to staff late last night:
“This means that while the Governor’s Executive Order is still in effect, the enforcement mechanisms are no longer in place.At this time, Unit 5 still has a board meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening to consider changes to our COVID mitigation plans but that could change based on information we receive tomorrow. We were hoping to have a few days to implement any changes but JCAR’s (Joint Committee on Administrative Rules ) decision accelerated the timeline.
As a result, Unit 5 is recommending masks be worn as an important COVID mitigation but effective immediately individuals will not be excluded if they do not wear a mask. We know there are a lot more questions, including whether we can require testing for staff and regarding excluding close contacts. We don’t have those answers yet but will get information as soon as it is available. For now, those items will be considered voluntary until we have more information. As you know this happened late yesterday. We notified staff of this last night tonight and planned to communicate with parents today when we had more compete information.”
The “enforcement mechanism” was through Illinois Department of Public Health. This is what JCAR shut down. JCAR members can be found here.
Wednesday morning, Feb. 16 Unit 5 parents were sent the following:
“We would like to provide an update to our community about ongoing legal happenings related to schools in Illinois. You may have heard news reports about a vote late yesterday by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools.
As a result of that decision, Unit 5 is changing its current mitigation strategies. The district is recommending masks be worn as an important COVID mitigation but effective immediately they are no longer required by students, employees, and visitors.
We understand this is a sudden change in how our schools have been operating. We were hoping to have a few days to implement any changes but JCAR’s decision accelerated the timeline. Schools in Illinois have not been given clear guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education or the Governor’s Office regarding how to transition from the decision, which has added to the confusion.
Please know, the federal order that requires face masks on all public transportation including school buses is not a part of recent litigation and remains in effect until the CDC rescinds the order.
Unit 5 will continue to offer other COVID mitigation strategies, including voluntary SHIELD testing. We have a supply of masks at each of our schools for those who wish to wear one. The district is very fortunate to have the Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization in all of our schools, as this is something hospitals use for enhanced air quality. An important strategy is having students and staff stay home if they are sick.
As always, we expect all students, faculty and staff to be respectful of others’ decisions on masking at school. We were hoping to have more information from the state to share with parents but at the time of this email we have received nothing. We know there are a lot more questions. We don’t have those answers yet but will share additional information with parents as it is available. We are asking for the patience and cooperation of staff and parents as we navigate these changes.”
According to District 87 parent Mark Weaver and a few D87 teachers, emails have not been issued regarding the legislative changes. D87 continues to follow the same mask and vaccination protocols they have been.
This story will be updated
