Masks Are Now Optional At Deerfield, Highland Park High Schools

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Masks are no longer mandatory at Deerfield and Highland Park high schools as a result of a vote Tuesday evening by the Township High School District 113 board.

Under the district's newly revised policies, students and staff will no longer be quarantined and excluded from school after having contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

People who test positive for the coronavirus will still be excluded from school for five days after testing positive or developing symptoms. And weekly testing will remain mandatory for students taking part in extracurricular activities and for unvaccinated staff.

Superintendent Bruce Law said about 88 percent of students at Highland Park High School, 90 percent of students at Deerfield High School and more than 98 percent of staff were fully vaccinated as of November.

While the district has local authority to require masks or regular coronavirus testing, Law said the Illinois Department of Public Health had not provided any advice about how to adjust its policies.

"We have gotten consultation, however, from the Lake County Health Department," Law said. "They've been very, very helpful, and actually working without much guidance from the state."

Local public health officials suggested paying close attention to the number of cases in schools, the superintendent said. And the results of the district's SHIELD saliva testing indicate the infection rate in the area has dropped along with the rest of the region.

There were 120 confirmed cases the first week of the year after students returned from winter break, with a positivity rate of nearly 5 percent. Last week, the testing program only picked up six new cases with a positivity rate of less than half a percent, according to Law's presentation to the board.

"[The] legal landscape keeps changing, the world keeps changing," Law said. "The only thing that we know is what we know right now and based on what we know, our case counts in our school have dropped and continue to drop and that's in the context of very, very high vaccination rates, both in our schools and our ZIP codes."

About 81 percent of those eligible are vaccinated in the surrounding ZIP codes, he said. The policy change, effective Wednesday, followed Law's decision last Friday to suspend enforcement of the mask mandate while awaiting a legal opinion from the district's lawyers.

Some board members pointed out that the enforcement moratorium gave a lot of people the impression the district had already shifted from a "masks required" to a "masks recommended" environment.

The board voted 5-1, with one member absent, to approve the modified mitigation measures, which will remain in place through the end of summer school in July.

Dan Struck, the lone vote against lifting the mask mandate, argued that the change disregarded the needs of immunocompromised people and that people needed more time to prepare for the change.

"I find it really troubling that there's some notion that wearing a mask somehow interferes with the ability of a high school student to study, or is depriving somebody of their freedom," Struck said. "I mean, frankly, acting with kindness is not something that's depriving me of my freedom when I show concern for other people."

Board member Gail Byck said she also felt concern for people who are medically vulnerable.

"Without people just being kind and compassionate and respectful of them," Byck said, "I don't know how we keep all this in place considering what's gone on in the courts in this state, as well as the fact that basically our state health department has abandoned all the local school districts on this issue."

In a message to the community after Tuesday's meeting, Law said masks would remain mandatory "in sensitive spaces where individuals may be medically vulnerable as determined by the Superintendent."

Following the meeting, the principals of Deerfield and Highland Park high schools sent out identical messages reminding students and their families that there are KN95 masks available for students at building entrances. In their notes, DHS Principal Kathryn Anderson and HPHS Principal Debby Finn said it was important to respect other people's decisions regarding masking.

"We understand that there are different opinions and beliefs surrounding this issue," the principals said. "Please honor each other’s decisions and, together, maintain the caring community that we strive to be."

The draft resolution was not included in the online version of the agenda posted ahead of the meeting, although portions were shown during the meeting via a screen-sharing function. [Update: Patch requested a copy and posted the four-page resolution online.]

"It's a really important point that part of this resolution gives the superintendent the authority to reinstate mitigation measures if it turns out that that's necessary," Byck said. "So if we get hit with another infectious variant and the positivity rate goes way up or something like that, then it's possible we could say, 'People need to wear masks again,' So people should be aware of that."

Earlier: District 113 Pauses Mask Mandate, Waiting To Hear From Attorneys