Kaneland superintendent says discipline procedures will be followed if students refuse to wear masks in school

SUGAR GROVE – Students and staff in Kaneland School District 302 will return to classes Aug. 11 wearing masks, as required at every school in Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s Aug. 4 executive order mandating masks superseded the Kaneland School Board’s decision nine days earlier to make the face coverings optional.

“It’s a mandate; something we are expected to do and to follow,” Superintendent Todd Leden told board members at a meeting Aug. 9 at Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove.

Leden made clear that the administration will enforce the masking requirement. Board members wanted to know how.

Any student not wearing a mask will be offered one, Leden said. In the case of a student who “willfully and wantonly refuses to wear a mask,” the family will be contacted, Leden said, expressing hope that parents will support the policy.

If a student continues to refuse to wear a mask, a series of actions including detention or exclusion from school activities would result, the superintendent said.

“We will follow our regular progressive disciplinary protocols,” Leden said.

Director of Human Resources Christopher Adkins told the board that masks must be of at least two layers and that no gaiters or vented masks will be allowed.

For students with medical conditions that preclude them from wearing a mask, a procedure is in place for obtaining an exemption from a doctor and an alternative involving the use of a face shield and social distancing, Adkins said.

Use of student lockers will resume at the middle school and at Kaneland High School, Adkins said.

Associate Superintendent Julie-Ann Fuchs told the board that free lunches will be available to all students. Registration is required but there are no questions regarding income levels, Fuchs said.

So far, 1,737 students have been registered for the lunches.

At the middle school and high school, students will be served a hot meal, Fuchs said, while students at the district’s four elementary schools will receive a sack lunch. All students will get milk, Fuchs said.

Adkins said students may remove their masks while eating but must put them on again when socializing or when returning to classes.

No one will be required to have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the administrators said, but people with symptoms should not enter school buildings.

For those who are not vaccinated, including staff members, the district is offering the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test developed by the University of Illinois. The testing starts Aug. 16.

Fuchs said the test is offered on a “voluntary, opt-in” basis. After registering online, students and staff can get the weekly test at their school building and expect to receive results in 24 hours.

As of Aug. 9, there were 267 students and 16 staff members registered for the program, Fuchs said.

“We expect more when people see how smoothly it works,” Fuchs said.

Leden said the school district will monitor the COVID-19 community transmission level on a weekly basis.

COVID-19 cases will be reported to the community via email, Leden said, specifying the school building and whether the positive results are from students or staff members.