Masks Still Required At Aurora School Districts

AURORA, IL — Students at Aurora public schools will still be required to wear masks despite a Sangamon County judge temporarily granting a restraining order that voids certain emergency COVID-19 rules in schools.

Officials at West Aurora School District 129 and East Aurora School District 131 announced they aren't changing course on their rules since neither district was among the 150 named in the lawsuit.

For the same reason, Indian Prairie School District 204 will also continue to enforce mandatory masking and school exclusion for close contact cases.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow's ruling voids certain emergency rules adopted in 2021 by the Pritzker administration, Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health. According to the judge, students can choose not to wear a mask, and unvaccinated school staff who don't want to be vaccinated or tested weekly must be afforded due process.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul will seek an expedited appeal of the order and said he remains committed to defending Gov. J.B. Pritzker's executive orders, Patch reported.

RELATED: Judge Blocks School Mask Mandate, Voids COVID-19 Emergency Orders

Current mitigation measures, including mandatory masking, close contact quarantine requirements and weekly testing for unvaccinated staff, will continue at both Aurora school districts. In a message to families sent early Monday, District 129 Superintendent of Schools Jeff Craig said the decision was made "in an effort to limit disruption and reduce confusion in our schools."

District 131 Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Norrell shared similar sentiments in a letter sent to families Sunday. She noted the district is "neither for or against for these mitigations" issued in Friday's ruling.

"The worst thing we could do at this point is to spend the next 2 weeks in chaos potentially moving the expectations back and forth," Norrell wrote. "That would be awful to expect from our PreK through 12th grade children who already have endured enough in the initial changes to school."

RELATED: IL School Mask Ruling 'Cultivates Chaos,' Gov. JB Pritzker Says