What makes a moment of silence?

It's ironic the legislature wants all Illinois students to remain silent for a "brief period" during their school day, because educators say the state has been very quiet on exactly what that means.

Does the new mandate for a daily moment of silence in public schools refer to an actual moment, a heartbeat, a full minute or just a pregnant pause? Must it really occur at the very start of the school day, as the new law states, or would another time be OK?

And what happens if students don't want to remain silent? Or if someone insists on continuing their meditation after all other students have moved on?

With little to no advance warning, school administrators in DuPage County and across the state awoke Friday to discover a new -- and very nebulous concept -- added to their students' school day.

Just as quickly, they developed a wide range of responses to the state law.

Students in some DuPage districts will observe as little as a five-second silence, while others will be asked to keep quiet for a full minute.

Still other districts are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Naperville Unit District 203 officials said they would love to get direction from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Assistant Superintendent Kitty Ryan said the district will enact a policy "as soon as we've had time to review the new directives from the state."

One of the problems with the law that faced all area districts on Friday was the abrupt notice.

For years, state law allowed for an optional moment of silence at the start of each school day.

This year, a group of lawmakers -- all Democrats -- introduced a plan to make it mandatory. Though it was overwhelmingly approved, Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed it citing constitutional concerns. It resurfaced Thursday and overcame the veto to immediately become law.

"I'd heard (the proposal) rumored for some time, but that happens with a lot of things that go on in Springfield," said Joe Bailey, superintendent in Medinah Elementary District 11.

He expected a little advance warning.

"I think the understanding that we were going to go from signature to implementation the next day is unusual," he said. He said his district simply will take an undefined "moment" to be silent before the daily Pledge of Allegiance.

Students in Queen Bee Elementary District 16 in Glendale Heights, on the other hand, will spend a full 60 seconds each morning in reflection starting Monday.

"We, like most of the rest of the world, didn't know much about it until it was passed," Superintendent Jim White said.

That said, they've decided to tack the minute right onto their daily recitation of the Pledge, even though White said he questions the overall meditative value for students.

"A second-grader isn't going to reflect on their life goals, they're going to think about lunch or why their dad yelled at them this morning," he said.

"My grandson's in kindergarten," White said, "and it would be hard to get him to stand still for a moment, let along reflect."

A spokesman for the state board of education said the agency will inform districts of the new requirement.

"Implementation will be up to the individual districts," spokesman Matt Vanover said.

There are no penalties in the new law for those who ignore the requirement or forget to follow it.

State Rep. Sandra Pihos, a Glen Ellyn Republican who voted against the measure, said she believes the law unnecessarily intrudes in the classroom.

"I think teachers should conduct their classroom in a way they think fitting to start the day," the former educator said.

There are greater concerns, according to Ed Schotz, president of the West Suburban Chicago chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. He doesn't want to see the law set a precedent in other states.

"We feel this is a thinly veiled path to prayer in schools," he said. "We are definitely going to take an approach to get this repealed."