Governor JB Pritzker is announcing a mask mandate for all students and staff in pre-school through 12h grade.
The requirement, even for those who have been vaccinated, comes as COVID-19 cases are increasing and the Governor says some school districts are opting not to follow CDC guidance about masking.
“My goal has always been to safely bring all kids back into the classroom at the start of the school year and keep them there. Without these measures, we would likely see many more outbreaks than in the latter half of the last school year.”
The mask mandate also applies to daycares and indoor school sports.
“Face coverings will be required for all indoor recreation whereas outdoor where transmission risks and rates are lower athletes and coaches will not be required to mask. We will encourage school districts that their athletes are tested regularly to catch any potential outbreaks early.”
Centralia High School Superintendent Chuck Lane says the Governor’s mandate is disappointing because it takes away local control.
I think we do have some leeway. We’re not going to have to change our lunch hours and make kids eat in the room and stuff like that. Everyone coming into the building, visitors, and staff, everyone is going to have to wear masks while indoors. Everything outdoors will be okay. Let’s hope this is a short-term deal and we can return to doing things normally.”
Lane had worked with about a dozen superintendents statewide on leading a drive to get local control over the wearing of masks.
The Governor’s decision isn’t finding favor with State Senator Jason Plummer and State Representative Blaine Wilhour.
Plummer says he finds it troubling that the Governor has clearly not learned from his costly past mistakes and has decided to double down on his refusal to allow lawmakers and other local officials the opportunity to give a voice to the people they represent. Plummer says this isn’t leadership, this is an unabashed power trip and doesn’t represent the will of the people he supposedly represents.
Wilhour maintains the Governor’s decision is not based on new science, data, or what’s best for kids. It’s based on furthering a narrative for political purposes. Wilhour says the science and data have clearly shown us that school-age kids are not statistically vulnerable to critical illness or death from COVID-19. He says data from all over the world has also shown us that schools are not the drivers of community outbreaks.
