How Many Unmasked LTHS Students Kept Away?

LA GRANGE, IL — Mask mandates at most Illinois schools are now a thing of the past.

The requirement at Lyons Township High School ended Monday. That followed protests and angry comments at school board meetings in opposition to the mask rule.

Some were particularly upset that masked and unmasked students were separated.

On Friday, the school revealed how many unmasked students were kept away from their masked counterparts. On Feb. 7, about 150 students decided against wearing masks, while 50 did so the following day, spokeswoman Jennifer Bialobok said in an email to Patch.

For the majority of time since then, Bialobok said, only about four students went maskless. The school has nearly 4,000 students, with no more than 4 percent of students in violation at any one time, according to the school's numbers.

Unmasked students were sent to the auditorium or cafeteria. Their defiance of the mandate followed a downstate judge's decision to suspend the governor's mask order in nearly 150 defendant school district. Lyons Township High School was not a defendant.

The school is now mask optional.

For months, many parents urged the school board to do away with the mask mandate. Some parents argued masks were a form of torture. One resident contended the rule was a sign of coming Marxism and fascism. The audience cheered her.