District 203 Shifts Mask Policy, Making Face-Coverings Optional

NAPERVILLE, IL — With the lifting of the statewide mask mandate now two weeks away, District 203 officials announced over the weekend that starting Tuesday, face-coverings will no longer be required in district buildings.

District 203 officials said Sunday that they will shift their mask policy on Tuesday, citing the uncertainty of when a decision regarding masks in schools across Illinois may be coming. Although masks are still strongly encouraged, they will no longer be required for students, staff and visitors, officials said.

District 203 is a defendant in a legal matter challenging the legitimacy of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandate that masks be worn in school settings. On Feb. 4, a downstate judge granted a motion for a temporary restraining order in the matter and in response, the defendants filed a motion for a TRO the appellate court level.

In announcing he is lifting the statewide mandate Feb. 28 last week, Pritzker blasted the county judge’s decision and said that schools will not be included in the lifting of the statewide mandate but said a change for schools will be coming “within weeks”.

"The counsel we received immediately after the TRO ruling was that the stay motion would likely be decided within days,” District 203 officials said in a news release on Sunday. “Expecting a quick decision, we did not want to make a decision for Naperville 203 that would be quickly invalidated. Thus, we were advised to continue requiring masking along with our other mitigation strategies at least until that motion was resolved. The quick ruling on the stay motion has not happened. In fact, since the order was issued, we have received no additional guidance from the courts.”

District 203 officials said they decided to shift the local policy due to the uncertainty of the timing of a statewide change. The decision also included reliance on District 203’s metrics and the district’s ability to successfully mitigate risk.

“We are confident that we are ready to adjust our mitigations and continue to provide a safe learning environment for all,” the district said.

COVID positive students and employees will be required to be excluded from school and close contacts will be informed, the district said. Unvaccinated faculty and staff members are not required to test weekly, officials said.

Because of a federal requirement issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, masks are still required to be worn on school buses. The district said that it will continue to provide KN95 masks to those who desire them and officials said that they expect students and faculty and staff to be respectful of others choices regarding masks.

“We understand that this is a shift in our mitigation strategies and it will be met with differing responses from all stakeholders,” the district said. “Regardless of your personal feelings regarding this shift, I am asking everyone to be kind and respectful of individual choice. Naperville 203 will not tolerate bullying or disrespectful behavior of any kind.”