Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 officials say the vast majority of students complied with mask-wearing policies this week despite both districts facing pushback from some families and students.
On Wednesday, about 30 students protested at Naperville Central High School, a very small percentage of District 203’s 17,000 student population, spokesman Alex Mayster said. Overall compliance has been at about 99%, he said.
At District 204’s Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville Friday morning, social media posts showed some students held a walk-in to protest the district’s mask policy.
D204 spokeswoman Lisa Barry would not say how many students may have been involved but the overall number who have been noncompliant has been small throughout the week, she said. It’s hard hard to estimate because some will end up putting on a mask either after being offered one or after being excluded from class, she said.
Indian Prairie’s student enrollment is about 27,000.
The mask issue has a point of contention in the last week after a downstate judge issued a temporary restraining order on enforcing mask policies in schools. Officials are interpreting that ruling in a variety of ways, with districts 203 and 204 opting to keep the policy in place while the case goes through the court system.
Both have similar measures in place for students who come to school without a mask, the first being the student is given a mask if they want one.
“While the district maintains the right to refuse student access to school due to issues with mask compliance, the district will discuss the expectations with students, provide opportunities for compliance and partner with parents before limiting student access to the building,” according to District 203’s masks/face covering rules.
“As approaches are exhausted, building administrators will begin to shift more towards heightened behavioral consequences,” the rules say.
At Indian Prairie, students are given the opportunity to comply, be sent home or remain in a designated area of the school, Barry said.
raguerrero@tribpub.com
