Elgin Area School District U-46 will go from requiring everyone in its buildings to wear masks to strongly recommending people still do so, depending on conditions, effective Wednesday.
U-46 Superintendent of Schools Tony Sanders made that announcement in his weekly newsletter, which was posted to the district’s website Friday.
“Strongly recommended means that our desire is to see all students and staff continue to wear appropriate masks that have been identified as effective against the spread,” Sanders said in the newsletter. “Any of our district-provided masks meet those requirements.”
The move comes after the Appellate Court of Illinois for the 4th Circuit ruled late Thursday night, upholding a temporary restraining order that had been issued in litigation in which U-46 was among the defendants. The order applied to a mandate for mask-wearing at schools that Gov. J.B. Prtizker issued in August.
The three justices said that “because the emergency rules voided by the TRO are no longer in effect, a controversy regarding the application of those rules no longer exists. Thus, the matter is moot.”
The judges also ruled that the language of the temporary restraining order “in no way restrains school districts from acting independently from the executive orders or the Illinois Department of Public Health in creating provisions addressing COVID-19.”
“The court affirmed the ability of local school districts to make decisions in regards to mitigation strategies,” Sanders said in his newsletter. “Even prior to the Appellate decision, we had begun preparing for a shift in our local mitigation strategies, which would be announced today because our local COVID-19 metrics continue to trend in a favorable direction”
Sanders said the Wednesday start allows the district time to address concerns of teachers or families and allows teachers time to adjust their classroom setups, if need be. U-46 schools are closed Monday in observance of President’s Day.
The Board of Education will be notified about the plan and its implementation at its next scheduled meeting Monday, Feb. 28.
With the new plan, the district’s health services department will look over metrics from Cook, Kane and DuPage County, where it has schools, and school-based data, then advise Sanders.
“It is important to note that these local guidelines give the district the ability to increase mitigations, including masking, in the case of a significant rise in cases,” Sanders said in the newsletter.
The district would require masks if all three counties have COVID-19 positivity rates of eight percent or more, which the Illinois Department of Public Health labels substantial rates. When those rates meet the IDPH standards for being low or moderate, U-46 will continue to strongly recommend students and staff wear masks.
“Using these updated metrics, and if there is no worsening of the metrics, all U-46 schools will move to strongly recommended by Wednesday, Feb. 23,” Sanders says.
However, Sanders says, for each campus, “If the positivity rate at any school is considered substantial, based on confirmed positive cases, student absences due to reported symptoms, or through identification through SHIELD testing, masks would be required.”
And because of federal regulations still in effect, masks must be still worn on school buses at all times, Sanders notes.
“For those who have been awaiting the option to remove your mask, please take into consideration the personal challenges and feelings of those who continue to be worried about catching COVID-19,” Sanders said. “If a teacher or other staff member asks students to use a mask, please honor that request as a sign of respect, knowing there is likely an underlying health concern that prompts that request.”
The district will continue to have masks and other PPE available for those who want to use them, Sanders said in the newsletter, and will continue to encourage those who can get vaccinated against COVID-19 to do so.
“Research demonstrates the vaccine to be the most effective mitigation strategy,” Sanders says.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
