Slow start for moment of silence

For years, state law has allowed for a moment of silence at the start of each school day. But it was merely allowed, not required. This year, a group of lawmakers -- all Democrats -- introduced a plan to make that moment mandatory.

But on Friday, the day the silence was to have begun, many Fox Valley educators say that because they haven't yet been prompted by the state school board they haven't put in place any plans to do so.

The measure was overwhelmingly approved but then vetoed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who cited constitutional concerns. In recent days, lawmakers cast aside that veto.

When the House on Thursday put the final piece of that override in place, the requirement immediately became law.

But there are no penalties included for those who ignore the requirement or forget to follow it. Similarly, there are no guidelines for how long the moment should be.

Good thing, because Fox Valley school districts would have been marked tardy.

Community Unit District 300 spokeswoman Allison Smith said her district has received no instruction from the state on the new law, and there is no existing district policy. "I think some of our schools have allowed it, but that's different from requiring it," she said.

And so it goes in Central Unit District 301.

"We had a chat with our district leadership team, and we will be getting together to talk about it," Superintendent Brad Hawk said. A policy, he said, would be carried out on a districtwide basis.

"I don't know of any of our schools that have already implemented this on their own," he said.

Geneva Superintendent Kent Mutchler said he'll talk to his principals to reach consensus on how a "moment" should be defined before putting any policy in place. And West Aurora schools spokesman Mike Chapin said it's a matter for the school board to discuss first.

Elgin Area Unit District U-46 officials think they've figured out what a moment is.

While the district will leave it to the discretion of teachers, spokesman Tony Sanders said, "We said that approximately 20 seconds would seem to be appropriate."

Even though St. Charles Superintendent Don Schlomann disagrees with the law, he said students at all 17 of his schools will be keeping their mouths shut -- if only for a moment -- on Monday morning.

They'll observe a moment of silence before reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

"Schools have done this in many ways for years in honor of victims of Hurricane Katrina, in honor of victims of 9/11 or maybe in honor of a local soldier who has fallen or a teacher who has died," Schlomann said. "I'm a little worried that if we make too much of the issue it will actually minimize the importance a moment of silence can have on the culture of a community."