PARK RIDGE, Ill. — A bipartisan committee voted to block Gov. JB Pritzker’s emergency powers mandating masks. Following the vote, more school districts made the decision to make masks optional.
Maine Township High School District 207 and Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 sent a message to parents Tuesday night, strongly encouraging masks — but making them optional starting Wednesday. Masks will still be required on school buses. The districts also noted that they “highly recommend that staff and students continue to wear masks in alignment with guidance from the CDC.”
The districts are composed of all of Park Ridge, most of Des Plaines and Niles, as well as portions of Glenview, Harwood Heights and Morton Grove.
The letter reads in part,
We are aware of today’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) decision not to extend the IDPH’s emergency rules mandating indoor masking in schools.
Given this information, and the fact that the COVID-19 rates have dropped significantly in our area, effective Wednesday, February 16, District 64 will now be a mask recommended environment for students and staff. We do highly recommend that staff and students continue to wear masks in alignment with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but masks are now optional.
Please know that masks are still required to be worn on any school-based transportation, including bus routes and taxis, due to the Federal CDC order.
We ask that you please speak with your children before coming to school Wednesday, February 16, about your family’s personal choice regarding wearing a mask at school.
Masks have made for some heated discussions for school board members and parents for more than a year now.
The vote Tuesday comes after a downstate judge ruled the governor had overstepped his authority by issuing the school mask mandate, but they decision was a little murky when it came to being enforced in districts and schools that weren’t named in the lawsuit.
The state health department reintroduced the mandate to try and clear up any confusion, but three democrats joined republicans in blocking the rule which essentially frees up districts that aren’t under local mandates to govern themselves.
Some democrats on the bipartisan panel voted present instead of for or against the rule. Some democrats that did join republicans say they voted against it because the state is currently appealing the earlier court decision on masks.
Attorneys involved in the appeal must file paperwork Wednesday discussing how the Joint Committee’s vote may impact the appeal. Republicans have been fighting Pritzker on mandates for the past two years.
A spokesperson for Pritzker framed Tuesday’s vote not as defeat but instead told the Chicago Tribune the governor understands members of the committee or awaiting a ruling from the appellate court on the issue.
As far as Chicago Public Schools, it has an agreement with teachers requiring masks and that has not changed.
