Parents Angry Over Mask Mandate Booted From D300 Meeting

ALGONQUIN, IL — District 300 is among the school districts in the Chicago area that is continuing to require all students and staff wear masks days after a downstate judge ruled in favor of lifting the mask mandate in schools. Following the ruling, school districts across Illinois scrambled to decide whether they'd continue to require masks or nix its masking policy.

On Tuesday, District 300 parents and students, as well as Republican candidates for state and local races, rallied outside the district offices of Community Unit District 300 in Algonquin, calling on school officials to drop its mask mandate, the Daily Herald is reporting. The rally drew more than 150 people.

A school board meeting followed the rally, with board members asking for a recess at one point due to "safety concerns," according to a Daily Herald article. One parent told police to arrest her after she was asked to leave when she spoke out of turn, and another parent was escorted out after responding to comments from the board president, according to the article.

D300 schools were not in session Monday after administrators decided to take an emergency day to make a decision on masking rules. Later that day, they announced masks would continue to be required.

"Please note that students refusing to wear a mask will be asked to do so or they will be subject to being assigned to an alternative setting and/or disciplinary measures," D300 Superintendent Susan Harkin wrote in a letter to parents.

"I understand some in our community may disagree with this approach," according to Harkin's note to parents. "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."