Illinois Education Association Urges School Districts Not To Rush To Change COVID Mitigation Rules After Judge's Order Halting Mask Mandate

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Education Association on Tuesday called on school districts to refrain from making any changes in COVID-19 mitigation policies after a downstate judge issued an order tossing Gov. JB Pritzker's school mask mandate.

The union, which represents teachers in numerous districts around the state, emphasized that students do not need further disruption and said the COVID-19 mitigations in place in Illinois schools have been working. The union said school districts should wait until the Illinois Appellate Court rules on the judge's order.

IEA Vice President Al Llorens released the following statement:

"Our students thrive on consistency and the last two years have been anything, but consistent. We do not want another disruption to our students' learning while we are still working to bridge the learning gap created by the pandemic. That's why we believe our school districts should 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. The 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."

Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow issued a temporary restraining order on Friday that halted the mask mandate, following the lawsuit from parents in districts around the state.

The office of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has already filed an appeal of the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Grischow, and has filed a request for an emergency stay on the judge's ruling -- meaning the ruling is in limbo.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday called the judge's ruling blocking enforcement of the state's school mask mandate at scores of districts "out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation."