Schools and districts throughout the State – and country – are beginning this school week on the heels of a flurry of announcements made last Friday by the CDC, the Illinois Supreme Court, Governor Pritzker and ISBE,...more
After announcing last week its plans to adopt the CDC’s new recommended shortened timeframes for exclusion, the IDPH and ISBE released several new guidance documents making such changes. The new guidance documents, as well as...more
154 school districts, Governor Pritzker, IDPH and ISBE have been sued in an attempt to abolish school district masking and quarantine requirements. The complaint was filed on October 20, 2021 in Macoupin County Circuit Court....more
New Guidance Documents: - The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently issued the following updated guidance documents related to return to in-person instruction...more
In July, the Illinois State Board of Education published non-regulatory guidance to assist schools in implementing HB 40 and HB 2748, now Public Act 102-0172 and 102-0173, respectively. The FAQ addressed many of questions...more
Last week, ISBE published long-awaited guidance related to remote learning for the 2021-2022 school year. We have been anticipating this guidance since early in the summer when ISBE announced that school would, with limited...more
Governor Pritzker has ordered a vaccine mandate for all teachers and staff at pre-K-12 schools, as well as students and personnel at higher education institutions. Under the Executive Order, all pre-K-12 school personnel must...more
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
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
It is hard to believe that it has been nine months since the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health issued their Part 3 – Transition Joint Guidance, “Starting the 2020-2021 School Year.”...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
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
ISBE released a comprehensive guidance document today with learning recommendations for the return to school this fall. In a letter introducing this document...more
Schools planning for students to return to campus in person this fall are confronting many significant challenges, including how to support students who may need physical restraint while also maintaining safe practices to...more
ISBE and IDPH recently released their guidance related to Starting the 2020-21 School Year. The guidance addresses a broad range of topics, including some suggestions related to special education. The following week ISBE...more
On June 30, 2020, ISBE issued an FAQ document with the purpose of assisting school districts in the transition to in-person instruction. This document, which supplements ISBE’s general guidance on return to in-person...more
On June 25, 2020, we issued a frequently asked questions document, “40 Answers to Your Phase 4 Questions: Practical FAQs on ISBE’s Phase 4 School Reopening Guidance,” clarifying ISBE and IDPH joint guidance for Phase 4 school...more
On June 23, 2020, the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (“IDPH”) released a guidance document addressing return to school during Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan this...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
On May 15, 2020, ISBE issued the first part of its recommendations for transitioning to in-person instruction, Considerations for Closing the 2019-20 School Year & Summer 2020: Part 1 – Transition Plan. The plan contains a...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