Mandated masks may muffle the words, but the message from dozens of superintendents is clear: The state is undermining what should be the local control of schools.
Forcing the use of masks in schools and requiring teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are just the latest examples of directives without dollars, according to a letter signed by more than 80 Illinois school superintendents.
“The state’s mandates regarding masks and vaccinations are merely the headlines and excuses of the moment in an incremental dismantling of local control in public education — and other arenas — that began decades ago, with the pace only picking up since,” they said.
The letter decried what the superintendents said was “a continuation of the pattern of higher officials substituting their judgments for those of local school boards” on both the state and federal levels.
They pointed to changes being pushed onto them in such areas as discipline, curriculum, testing and athletes.
“It is fair to ask: What is the point of electing local school boards at all?” the letter said.
While a tug-of-war over local control has been a long-simmering matter, it has been exacerbated since pandemic restrictions began last year.
Within the past few months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has gone from allowing school districts to determine how best to handle pandemic restrictions to mandating they follow guidance from the the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education requiring masks be worn.
The state has been aggressively enforcing that rule. It has put at least 47 public school districts on probation — putting their state funding at risk — and has pulled state recognition for at least 15 non-public schools, according to an analysis by Capitol News Illinois.
Some school districts and state lawmakers are challenging the enforcement as an overreach. The legislative Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has been meeting this week to consider some of the concerns.
Critics point to more than 80 executive orders issued by Pritzker since March 2020 without input from the Legislature.
“We would grant that public safety is of the utmost importance — we want to protect our kids, employees and ourselves, too — and that people of good intention may differ on the approaches to this pandemic and how best to protect the short- and long-term health and interests of our students. What we would not concede is that we must abandon our principles as a nation in order to preserve and protect the nation and its citizens. Among those principles is the rule of law,” according to the letter from superintendents.
More school leaders than the governor would care to admit have “serious misgivings about how decisions are being made” in Springfield, they said.
“Too many of our state leaders mistake compliance with agreement and consent,” according to the letter. “As for the science, it — or at least the communication of it from the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and others — has been inconsistent at best.”
The students are the ones bearing the brunt of the punitive actions of the state becoming less of a partner and more of an adversary, the superintendents said.
“To say this is a challenging and unprecedented time understates it, but the zig-zag nature of decision-making out of Springfield has made it far more difficult to manage our classrooms, our schools, and our districts, creating unnecessary conflict in our communities. None of that serves our students — our reason for being — well,” they wrote. “It’s not just about the pandemic. It’s about all of the decisions that have been taken out of local hands by those who are all too distant from the resulting fallout. Enough is enough. Absolutely, it is the principle of the thing. Please, restore local control and accountability to our communities and those of us who know them best.
Among west-central Illinois school officials putting their signature on the letter were superintendents Jill Larson of New Berlin and Kevin Blankenship of Scott-Morgan and Winchester school districts.
It isn’t the first time school administrators have made their opinions known. School superintendents across Illinois in May urged the state to avoid what it said was a cookie-cutter approach to pandemic-related restrictions when classes resumed this year.
Some parents and teachers have been pushing school boards to challenge the mandates. This week, about 90 staff and community members urged Jacksonville School District 117’s board to reject requirements that all teachers and school employees be vaccinated or be tested at least once a week.
Superintendent Steve Ptacek said Thursday that, while some of the mandates are frustrating, “there isn’t any ‘wiggle room’ on this issue as argued in the letter. The reality is that if we do not follow this executive order, we risk the very real possibility of having our recognition status removed.”
Among those signing the letter were 26 staff members — fewer than 4% of the more than 630 district employees.
“Given that … and that over 83% of our staff are vaccinated, this letter does not represent the ‘voice’ of our staff. Also, the governor’s executive order has the support of both the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers’ unions. Many, if not most, teachers see this as a way to make their work environment safer,” he said.
Ptacek said the vaccination requirement is different from the mask mandate and not one he would have initiated.
“The letter argues that ‘… JSD117 has the moral obligation to protect the rights of its colleagues.’ Others would argue that we have a moral obligation to keep our staff and students safe. This is not a clearly defined moral issue. It is entirely clouded in shades of gray because, on this issue, moral obligation is an abstract term that alters based on each individual’s beliefs and perceptions,” he said.
The superintendent said the school district will remain politically neutral and continue to follow expected guidelines and protocols, regardless of personal opinions.
"control" - Google News
September 17, 2021 at 02:15AM
https://ift.tt/2VLmxHJ
School districts feeling heat over ‘out of their control’ pandemic rules - Jacksonville Journal-Courier
"control" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bY2j0m
https://ift.tt/2KQD83I
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "School districts feeling heat over ‘out of their control’ pandemic rules - Jacksonville Journal-Courier"
Post a Comment