Algonquin-based Community School District 300′s more than 20,000 students will return to the classroom Tuesday after the district announced Monday morning that it would close schools as a “proactive measure to ensure a safe learning environment for our students and our staff.”

Superintendent Susan Harkin told families in a letter Monday evening that the district would enforce its mask and close contact requirements for all students not named in the lawsuit challenging the policies.

The decisions followed a temporary restraining order issued late Friday by a Sangamon County judge that said Gov. JB Pritkzer and the Illinois Department of Public Health could not issue a mask mandate for schools or require that students be excluded when they are close contacts to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

District 300 was one of two McHenry County schools named in the lawsuit that said they would continue to require masks and exclusion for close contacts except for the students named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The other was Cary School District 26, which held a virtual school board meeting where public comments were accepted in writing but the lawsuit and mask policy was not discussed. .

Five public comments were submitted, all of which criticized the board’s decision to continue requiring masks and asked that a formal vote be taken to make them option. The board president said they would not be discussing the comments as the agenda did not have the issue on the agenda

“Rather than come together to find a solution that fits the needs of your constituents while also following the law, this board has decided to dig their heels into the ground, not budging on the illegal mitigations,” one parent wrote. “Your one-sided stubborn views neglect the children in the district that don’t follow your orders like sheep. I demand you review your mitigation policy and follow the law: allow mask optional.”

The other six McHenry County school districts named in the lawsuit said they would be recommending but not requiring masks. They also said they would stop requiring the exclusion of close contacts from school, though Crystal Lake-based Community High School District 155 said it would continue contact tracing and request, but not require, close contacts stay home.

[ Click here to see which other McHenry County school districts were named in the mask mandate lawsuit and what they’re doing in response to the judge's order. ]

Harkin in her letter pointed to a ruling issued at the same time as the temporary restraining order that limited the scope of the litigation to only the named parties. As a result, the district is limiting its application of the order to those 19 students named.

“I would like all parents to know, I understand that communication about the judge’s Order has been confusing and inconsistent,” Harkin said. “There continues to be different analyses and interpretations of the decision, as well as mixed information about the scope of the decision. That being said, until a decision is issued that is binding on all students within the school district – not just those who are named parties – District 300 will continue to enforce its mitigation policies for all students and staff not named in the lawsuit.”

Students who refuse to wear a mask will be asked to do so or they will be subject to an alternative setting and possibly disciplinary measures, she said.

The district expects a final ruling from the appellate court by Feb. 17, Harkin said.

“I understand some in our community may disagree with this approach,” she said. “However, I would like to note that staff and students continue to be regularly absent from school due to positive COVID-19 cases, we serve children with medical conditions that put them at increased risk of illness, and many of our students and staff live with family members with compromised health conditions.”

District 300 covers all or part of Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Barrington Hills, Hampshire, Gilberts, Pingree Grove, Sleepy Hollow, West Dundee, East Dundee and Carpentersville.