Effingham Unit 40 Issues Statement on Temporary Restraining Order Regarding Face Masks (UPDATE)

As students head back to school today after several snow days, Effingham Unit 40 issued a statement Sunday evening regarding face masks.

Masks will still be required in the district.

In the statement, Superintendent Mark Doan said the ruling doesn't apply to Unit 40 "due to a separate ruling from the same court denied class-action status which limits the scope of the litigation, the TRO applies only to the parties of the lawsuit. Effingham Unit #40 was not a party to that case, and therefore the TRO does not apply to our District."

The matter is on the agenda for a special meeting of the Unit 40 Board of Education tonight. That meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Unit offices on South Banker. 

Some parents online had questioned whether the district would accept a waiver form that's been circulating online. In the statement, Doan said the policy remains unchanged, and that "Unit #40 schools will continue to require that students/staff follow the mitigations that were in place last week: masks required, continuation of weekly testing, and exclusion of individuals who are close contacts. Please appreciate that there are students and staff that may have specific health issues who need COVID mitigations in place to be able to come to work/school safely."

The full statement that Unit 40 posted to Facebook is below.