Dear District 88 Families and Staff Members,
By now most of you have probably heard that, late last Friday, an Illinois judge ruled on a lawsuit filed by more than 700 parents across the state that challenged state-mandated COVID-19 mitigations. The Sangamon County Circuit Court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) affecting certain school districts and specific individuals in those districts. The TRO temporarily
suspended enforcement of mask mandates for students and exclusion for asymptomatic close contacts. Due to a separate ruling limiting the scope of the litigation the TRO applies only to the parties of the lawsuit. Our School District was not a party to that case, and therefore the TRO does not apply to our school district.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our District has been committed to maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff. In furtherance of that commitment and because we are not a party to the pending litigation, the District is maintaining its COVID-19 mitigation measures and protocols. Therefore, there will be no changes in the District’s requirements until further notice. We will continue to require masking for everyone while indoors at school and while on school transportation and follow our current practice for exclusion of individuals who are close contacts.
The district has been speaking with legal counsel, the health department, union representatives and local administrators all weekend. At this time, we are in the process of reviewing the judge’s decision and will communicate with you as soon as possible how this ruling may impact District 88 students and staff members in the future.
We ask for your understanding and patience as our district navigates the latest changes to the COVID-19 guidance and rules for Illinois schools. We look forward to seeing everyone back in the buildings tomorrow and appreciate your patience and cooperation as we continue to prioritize student and staff health and safety while providing in-person learning.
Please expect further communications this week as this topic is ever changing.
Sincerely,
Tony Baker, Superintendent