How will Pritzker's mask mandate be enforced? State, educators say they've got it covered
Gov. J.B. Pritzker's face mask mandate in all schools to curb the spread of COVID-19 was definitive, but with not all parents or every educator on board, it raises questions about enforcement.
So far, many suburban school districts whose boards previously voted to make masks optional this fall have reversed course and will adopt the state guidelines, a Daily Herald survey found.
But for those who flout the rules announced Wednesday, the state has a few big sticks to wield - if necessary, the governor said.
"We have the legal authority to enforce this, and we will if necessary," Pritzker said.
One reality that's hard to ignore for districts, Pritzker said, is that if they disregard the mask mandate, they would be liable for any lawsuits that occur if a child contracts COVID-19 in a school setting, for example.
As a last resort, the Illinois State Board of Education can also remove a school's "recognition status," he said. That could mean a loss of state funding, said Jackie Matthews, executive director of communications for the board.
The state board has authority under state law to reduce the recognition status of any school district exhibiting "deficiencies that present a health hazard or a danger to students or staff."
That would come only after several other steps fail, including a corrective action plan and a probationary period, Matthews said.
"Our focus is on supporting school districts in understanding and complying with the current guidance and requirements," Matthews said. "We all agree that our collective goal is to keep learning in-person, and wearing a mask is the simplest, most effective way to do that - for our students, for our parents, for our teachers, and for the broader community."
Local districts said they're prepared to give masks to the forgetful and deal individually with anyone who refuses to wear one, as several threatened to do at a Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 board meeting on Wednesday.
Pritzker said his administration will supply masks to schools that need them.
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 staff members "recognize the concerns raised by parents" but will enforce the governor's mandate when classes resume next Thursday, Director of Communications Erin Holmes said.
District 211 has extra masks for those who need them, special masks for students who are in activities like band, and protocols for those with a medical condition that limits their ability to wear a mask.
As far as any accidental or deliberate noncompliance with the mandate, Holmes said "issues involving student and staff masking would be handled on a case-by-case basis by staff in the appropriate roles."
The debate over masking has consumed some school boards, with meetings largely given over to airing of public criticism and demands. A Villa Park Elementary District 45 meeting on Tuesday, where the board was to vote on a mask requirement for students, was delayed after a scuffle and argument involving attendees, some of whom wouldn't comply with a requirement to wear masks at the meeting.
But Lake Zurich Unit District 95 board President Scott McConnell said the goal is "to provide students with access to in-person learning with the least amount of disruption as possible."
"I understand the passions behind the issue and why finding common ground is so hard," McConnell wrote in an emailed response. "... When it comes to the pandemic, we have set clear expectations about what is most important for our district."
Even in the face of time-consuming discussion of polarizing issues, District 211 board President Anna Klimkowicz said board members don't have the ability to ignore issues that remain relevant.
"If the safety of our students and staff is involved, we keep talking as long as we need to keep talking," Klimkowicz said.
• Daily Herald staff writers Eric Peterson and Doug Graham, and the Associated Press contributed.