Lawmakers Question if State Board of Education Has Authority to Penalize School Districts Over Masks
Beecher City Grade School in Effingham County. The Beecher City district is one of four public school districts around the state that continue to defy Governor JB Pritzker’s order requiring masks in schools.
Republicans on the legislative Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) Tuesday pressed the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on its authority to penalize schools for ignoring Governor JB Pritzker’s mask mandate in schools.
JCAR is a bipartisan, bicameral panel of legislators that oversee the rulemaking processes that govern how agencies interpret and enforce laws.
ISBE has placed dozens of school districts on probation under threats of lost state funding, lost recognition of diplomas, and bans from sports participation, but some Republicans questioned whether the agency has the authority to do so under existing law.
During questioning, ISBE Deputy Legal Officer Kristen Kennedy said the agency would not file emergency rules with JCAR, and repeatedly told the committee ISBE is operating under a court decision that ruled Pritzker’s executive orders for mask mandates in schools were legal and enforceable.
But some lawmakers, like Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said ISBE is overreaching.
“This, on its face, is a very heavy-handed tactic that does not afford any due process. You should have due process in place for all schools, all parents who are invested in these schools, whether public or private, and, most importantly, the children that attend,” Curran said. “[Existing laws] seem to be a lot more thoughtful than how the department has gone about handling this situation, which has caused spillover into the courts and, quite frankly, a lot of hostility among parents and school administration.”
The committee said ISBE may be acting outside of its authority and gave the agency 30 days to file an administrative rule that covered all “policy and guidance.”
As of Tuesday, four public school districts remain on ISBE “probation” and nine private schools have lost state recognition.