Manhattan SD114 Goes Mask Optional Following Court Ruling

Editorial note: An earlier version of this article stated that Manhattan School District 114 was a plaintiff in the lawsuit. It was a defendant. The article has been corrected to reflect that.

MANHATTAN, IL — Manhattan School District 114 notified parents Sunday that its schools would be mask optional starting Monday following a judge's ruling that voided mask mandates in Illinois schools.

In a message posted on the District's website, Manhattan SD114 Superintendent Rusty Ragon wrote that face masks will be optional beginning Monday, and that "staff and students considered to be a close contact of a COVID positive case will no longer need to quarantine, and lastly, the school district will no longer be required to conduct mandated testing for unvaccinated staff."

Further mitigation strategies, such as social distancing practices, handwashing/sanitizing and cleaning protocols for the District were not outlined in Ragon's notice. Masks will still be required on buses because that is a federal guideline, he wrote.

Related:

• Judge Blocks School Mask Mandate, Voids COVID-19 Emergency Orders
• Lincoln-Way D210 Goes Mask Optional Following Court Ruling

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow ruled Friday that the Pritzker administration had, with emergency orders the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health issued on Sept. 17, 2021, improperly delegated authority that state lawmakers had granted to public health officials. Grischow's ruling is a temporary restraining order against those mandates.

Manhattan SD114 was one of about 150 other defendants in that case. Although her ruling only directly applies to those plaintiffs named in the case, Grischow noted that "Any non-named Plaintiffs and School Districts throughout this State may govern themselves accordingly," leaving the door open for all school districts to enact similar policies as Manhattan SD114.

Also as part of her ruling, Grischow said unvaccinated school staff who do not want to be required to be vaccinated or take weekly COVID-19 tests must be afforded due process.

It is unclear what, if any, impact that part of the ruling will have on Manhattan SD114. Patch has reached out to the District for clarification, but has not yet received a response.

"While I anticipate there will be appeals at the state level, it is my hope there will be no further changes to our in-person learning for the remainder of this school year and beyond," Ragon wrote. "It will continue to be very important for individuals that become ill, both staff and students, to remain home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours before returning to school, regardless if it is the typical seasonal flu or COVID."