Lake Forest Schools Go Mask Optional In Response To Court Ruling

LAKE FOREST, IL — Administrators at Lake Forest public school districts announced plans to abide by a temporary restraining order issued Friday by Sangamon County judge.

Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow's ruling declared emergency orders issued in September 2021 by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education were void.

It also forbids school districts named as defendants from requiring masks, COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated staff and excluding people deemed close contacts with confirmed coronavirus cases without the local health department following procedures laid out in the Illinois Department of Public Health Act.

The order, or TRO, applies to four cases, including Austin vs. Pritzker, which was filed by parents at about 150 of the state's 840 school districts.

Lake Forest School District 67 and Lake Forest Community High School District 115 are among those named as defendants.

State officials have filed a motion to stay the restraining order, or TRO, and an expedited appeal in the 4th District Appellate Court, according to Superintendent Matt Montgomery, who announced the district's updated COVID-19 mitigation guidance Saturday.

Starting Monday, masks are recommended but not required for all staff and students, with special accommodations for medically fragile students, the superintendent said.

"Any staff member or student who is considered a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case will be strongly encouraged to wear a mask while at school, monitor symptoms, and be tested if any symptoms appear but will not be subject to exclusion," Montgomery said.

The superintendent said other layered mitigation measures would remain in place, and any staff member who requests it will be offered additional personal protective equipment, including KN95 masks and clear plastic dividers. District staff will continue to conduct contract tracing of new infections, according to a spokesperson.

Part of Grischow's ruling found that Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration had improperly delegated authority from state and local public health agencies to the state education board. Montgomery emphasized that members of the district communities must also still abide by county health department orders.

"Any and all isolations issued specifically by the Lake County Health Department (typically issued once a positive COVID-19 result is received) must be upheld by students or staff," Montgomery said.

Masks will still be required on transportation, as required by federal regulation, and for students visiting other schools that have mask mandates in place, according to the superintendent's message.

Last month, Montgomery told the District 67 board that administrators were facing a lot of questions and planning for a wide variety of possible contingencies.

"We could go back and forth between a mask mandate and a mask-optional environment as the courts are going through this process," Montgomery said. "There also could be an immediate stay that is issued by the appellate court while the appellate court works through this process."

In his message to school communities Saturday, the joint superintendent said district officials would not tolerate any form of disrespect or bullying over mask choices.

"There are many perspectives on this issue," he said. "Regardless of your family or personal choice about masking, I am asking everyone to lead with kindness. It is critically important that we are respectful of each other’s personal decisions."

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