South Central Reporter

 Author Jon J. Kerr is taking note of the Vandalia School District’s resistance to Illinois’ new masking mandate for students across the state.

“Vandalia has received a letter from ISBE stating it will be put on probation for defying EO,” Kerr posted to Twitter. “But they are staying the course. No flip. I don’t see anything has changed.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his administration have wasted little time moving to penalize Vandalia, which  continues to move forward with a plan to institute its own mitigation plan. Vandalia School Board members recently came together to adopt a three-layer mitigation plan that would make masking optional in the cases of minimal transmission, with the ability to adjust the mandate if and when conditions tick up to the point of substantial transmission.

Around the same time the board was taking action, state Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala penned a letter to school districts warning that failure to comply would ultimately lead to “nonrecognition" for the school in question, which could mean a complete loss of state funding and the loss of the school’s ability to participate in any ISHA or IESA athletic competitions.

The Leader Union reports education officials across the state have co-signed letters to Pritzker and Ayala requesting that local school districts decide their own standards when it comes to safeguarding schools against COVID-19.

In a letter co-signed by Vandalia Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Garrison, school officials also sought to establish a plan where “All school districts will receive resources necessary to create safe, healthy, and welcoming learning environments, and will be equipped to meet the unique academic and social needs of each and every student.”

School officials said the best way ISBE can implement a plan for carving out such a pathway is to “support district implementation of policy and guidance to promote students’ safety and well-being, including non-discrimination and inclusion.”

The signees wrote, “The guidance provided must not be a one-size-fits-all solution” given the state’s diverse makeup and the many school districts' different approaches to meeting the needs of its students.

According to The Illinois Department of Public Health, total cases of COVID among young people are up from their lowest point in the pandemic. In the last week of June, 272 cases among those 5-17 were reported. In the last week of July, 3,082 cases were reported. This is comparable to numbers from May.