|
UPDATED
ISBE POLICY PUTS PRIVATE SCHOOLS ON PROBATION FOR DEFYING MASK MANDATES
INSTEAD OF IMMEDIATELY REVOKING STATE RECOGNITION
Illinois Policy Institute/
Patrick Andriesen
The Illinois State Board of Education, or
ISBE, has reversed course on a policy that immediately revoked state
recognition of private schools violating Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask
mandate. As of Oct. 5, public and private schools that are found in
violation of the governor’s school mask mandate will be placed on a
60-day probationary period.
|
|
 The move comes just days after a Kendall County judge ruled in favor of
temporarily reinstating state recognition of Parkview Christian Academy, finding
ISBE guidelines for recognizing nonpublic schools unequally “burdensome.”
The state board has since updated its policy, placing Illinois’ eight
“nonrecognized” private schools on probation in line with public school
procedures for breaching the mandate.
ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews said Oct. 5 that “moving nonpublic schools to
probation instead of nonrecognition gives schools more time to work with ISBE on
coming into compliance.”
Board officials are now contacting private schools that defied the governor’s
order to discuss compliance issues and will require the institutions to submit a
“corrective plan” within 60 days.
Since Pritzker introduced his statewide school mask mandate on Aug. 4, ISBE has
placed 58 Illinois schools on probationary status. At least 15 of those schools
had their state recognition rescinded.
Illinois schools unrecognized by ISBE lose access to state funding, the ability
to participate in interschool sports and accreditation for newly issued
diplomas, invalidating years of graduating students’ hard work.
[to top of second column] |
Parkview challenged the punitive measure in court
after ISBE stripped the school of state recognition in August for
voting to make masking optional. The Christian academy argued the
state process for school status revocation was unfairly weighted
against private institutions. Krentz ruled in their favor, ordering
ISBE to temporarily reinstate Parkview Christian Academy’s state
recognition while the case continues to make its way through the
court system.
An ISBE spokesperson clarified the “separate processes (for private
and public schools) have been in long-standing administrative
rules,” adding that the rules themselves have not actually been
changed, rather the state board has just recently started enforcing
the policy differently.
Matthews said the separate private school recognition process still
allows for immediate nonrecognition without a probationary period
“in instances in which the state superintendent determines there is
an emergency situation present at a school.”
 |
