The COVID-19 paid leave law has raised both legal and practical questions for school administrators. To further assist with following the mandates of the law, we have prepared a model form that schools can use when receiving...more
Yesterday, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a revised version of HB 1167, which provides paid administrative leave, with no deduction of sick leave days, to fully vaccinated teachers for absences related to COVID-19....more
4/6/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Illinois ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
School Districts ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On March 4, 2022, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2022-07 which has implications for Illinois schools as they continue to grapple with this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, the latest Executive Order...more
Just before midnight yesterday, the Appellate Court issued its decision on the appeal of the February 4, 2022 TRO enjoining the Governor from enforcing certain COVID-19 mitigation measures including universal masking. With...more
2/18/2022
/ Appeals ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Mootness ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
School Policies ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
TRO ,
Workplace Safety
Since yesterday, there have been many reports about the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) vote against extending IDPH Emergency Rules regarding masking, vaccine and testing requirements in schools. This has...more
2/16/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Quarantine ,
School Policies ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Friday, a court ruling in Springfield resulted in a temporary restraining order enjoining the Governor from enforcing certain COVID-19 mitigation measures including universal masking. Approximately 150 of Illinois’ 840...more
2/7/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
School Districts ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
TRO ,
Workplace Safety
Focused on providing a safe learning environment for in-person instruction, Governor Pritzker announced that all individuals in all PreK-12 schools and daycare settings in Illinois must wear a mask when indoors, regardless of...more
In a new FAQ issued, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) confirm that the adoption of the CDC’s July 9 guidance means local control of mitigation layers—most...more
7/28/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Social Distancing ,
Students ,
Vaccinations
On Friday afternoon, the CDC updated its guidance for K-12 schools. Illinois public health officials quickly followed suit, with IDPH and ISBE stating that Illinois has “fully adopted” the CDC guidelines. Under the new...more
A little over a year ago, in Dynak v. Board of Education of Wooddale School District 7, the Illinois Supreme Court put to rest the argument about the timing of paid sick leave related to the birth of a child under Section...more
As promised, following our October 29 alert we more closely examined the conflict between the Governor’s order delaying basketball to Spring and the IHSA’s decision to proceed as scheduled in November. Our review identified a...more
Along with every one of our school district clients who are members of the Illinois High School Association, we are trying to sort out the conflict between the Governor’s action on Tuesday of this week to postpone high school...more
Our Franczek team received many inquiries about staffing options for classrooms where the teacher of record is teaching remotely. While many districts are staffing these classrooms with licensed paraprofessionals, the...more
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) updated its COVID-19 FAQ and Exclusion Guidance last week. As we previously reported, the IDPH released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for schools in August to supplement but...more
Section 50.100 of the ISBE teacher evaluation regulations requires that teachers who are to be evaluated during the upcoming school term be notified that they will be evaluated and provided with certain information regarding...more
On August 12, 2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued a “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)” for Schools.” In a statement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to stakeholders that same day, ISBE...more
8/14/2020
/ Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Section 504 ,
Special Education ,
State Health Departments ,
Students
By executive order on June 4, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker authorized all public and nonpublic preK-12 schools the state to reopen after the completion of the 2019-2020 school term for limited educational purposes...more
The Illinois General Assembly was busy during its recent special session, passing a number of bills addressing important concerns for local governments and schools during the COVID-19 public health crisis....more
Spring break abroad, prom, senior night, senior breakfast, baccalaureate, awards night, and walking across the stage at graduation in front of faculty, family, and friends. The list of events that Illinois high school seniors...more
Earlier today, April 24, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-31 relaxing a wide number of requirements impacting schools and community colleges. ...more
As we previously reported, on March 27, 2020, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Governor issued several resource documents that address changes to the remote learning landscape in Illinois schools during...more
Although Act of God days between March 17 and March 30 will not be made up and are not instructional days, “the employer can expect school district employees to participate in work activities,” including stipend work, “in...more
Governor JB Pritzker’s recent order that all K-12 schools in Illinois be closed between March 17 and March 30 has left school districts scrambling to prepare to close school tomorrow. On Saturday, March 14, ISBE updated its...more
3/17/2020
/ Act of God ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Educational Institutions ,
IEA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
ISBE ,
Public Health ,
School Closures ,
School Districts ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Wage and Hour
Since the first reported case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, school districts in Illinois have been preparing for a potential outbreak within the state. In so doing, school...more
3/12/2020
/ Absenteeism ,
Best Practices ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a statement yesterday reminding schools, colleges, and universities of their responsibilities to address discrimination and harassment based on race and...more
3/5/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Best Practices ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
OCR ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Race Discrimination ,
Risk Management ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII