Staunton CUSD #6 Families:
On Friday, February 4, 2022, the Sangamon County Circuit Court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) affecting certain school districts and specific individuals in those districts. The TRO temporarily suspended enforcement of mask mandates for students and staff and exclusion for asymptomatic close contacts. Our District was a party to that case. The case is being appealed and a request to stay the court’s TRO ruling has been filed. As a result, a final and certain outcome has not been reached at this point.
While we are continuing to monitor the status of the case, in light of the court’s TRO, we understand the order to require temporary suspension enforcement of the mask mandate and exclusion for asymptomatic close contacts for all District students and staff. This will take effect starting Monday, February 7, 2022. Please note that masking on school buses is still required by the federal CDC Order and all students and staff must continue to wear masks while on District transportation.
Importantly, this decision is temporary and subject to change. If a stay of the TRO is granted or the ruling is reversed on appeal, we will immediately resume enforcement of the COVID-19 requirements for all students and staff. While we will not mandate mask compliance by District students and staff during this temporary suspension, we strongly encourage individuals to continue to wear masks. This will help ensure continuity of in-person instruction. In that regard, we will continue to make masks available for any students or staff who voluntarily wear masks.
The district is 100% committed to promoting a positive culture of respect for all members of the school community. Any negative comments or bullying due to the decision to wear a mask or not will be dealt with in a timely and serious manner. Every individual will be respected in their decision.
We appreciate your patience and continued cooperation until we have a more definitive result from the pending court cases. We will continue to monitor the litigation and will revisit, as necessary, any changes that may be required to our mitigation measures and protocols. Your continued support of the Staunton School District is much appreciated!