Last week on May 19, 2021, the Illinois State Board of Education passed a Resolution Supporting In-Person Learning which only expressed support for future policies and decisions by the State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala regarding returning to in-person learning next school year. Notably, this Resolution did not pass or establish any policy or rules and everything regarding next school year still remains unknown and not finalized.
However, the Resolution did indicate that Disaster Proclamation Remote Learning will only need to be provided to students who are both not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and are also under quarantine. Currently, disaster proclamation remote learning is required for students who are at increased risk of severe illness or who live with people at increased risk. Nothing in the proposed changes to the policy however prevents school districts from choosing to provide remote learning under different provisions of the School Code such as Remote Educational Plan or Blended Learning.
However, this Resolution has resulted in a lot of confusion and questions and as a result, ISBE has released a FAQ and a Webinar to address a lot of the questions. Both can be found on the ISBE website and we encourage districts to review these. KTJ will update its districts once there are actual policies in place that require District action and decisions.
Authored by:
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- Mallory A. Milluzzi
