Late Thursday night, the Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court dismissed the appeal from the Sangamon County Circuit Court order rendering unenforceable Governor Pritzker’s Executive Orders mandating masks, close contact exclusions, and vaccinations or weekly testing in schools
Some school districts have now already determined not to follow the Governor’s Executive Orders in whole or in part. The Appellate Court’s decision confirms that they have that option. While there is no court order prohibiting districts from imposing their own rules, the adoption of such rules may be subject to legal challenges similar to the challenges to the rules adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education regarding masks, vaccines, and COVID testing, which are the subject of this lawsuit.
There are likely also collective bargaining implications should a school district want to continue to require staff members to wear masks or be vaccinated or be tested weekly.
Finally, none of these state court proceedings diminish the continued validity of the federal mandate concerning masking on school buses.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our attorneys.