(WSIL) -- The Illinois Education Association (IEA) is asking districts not to "make any rash decisions" and hold off changing any COVID rules.Ìý
This follows a ruling on Friday by Sangamon CountyÌýCircuit Court Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow placed a temporary restraining order on the state's COVID mandates against schools.
Several school districts across the state,Ìýincluding inÌýsouthern Illinois, have made the choice to walk back several COVID-19 policies, including masks.ÌýMany have decided to let masks be optional for students, rather than mandatory.
The governor's office and attorney general have already filed an appeal to the ruling. Attorney General Raoul'sÌýappeal requested an immediate response from the appellate court because it was filed on an emergency basis.Ìý
The IEA is requesting districts hold off on making any changes until the appeals process is complete.Ìý
“Our students thrive on consistency and the last two years have been anything, but consistent. We do not want another disruption to our studentsâ€� learning while we are still working to bridge the learning gap created by the pandemic.ÌýThat’s why we believe our school districtsÌýshould not make any rash decisions changing COVID safety requirements until after this process plays out in our court system. Our educators should be focused on their students - not worrying about health and safety. We’ve been able to keep our schools open with these safety measures in place. We know that in person learning is the best way for our students to learn and we should be doing everything we can to continue to meet in person. While we wait for the appellate court’s decision, we think it’s important to focus on working with parents to provide our students the best education possible.ÌýThe only way we got through the last two years was by working together, and we need to continue to do so. Our students deserve a team of parents, community members, educators and other stakeholders behind them.â€�