Recognition Status Pulled Over Masks For Arlington Heights School

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Christian Liberty Academy is one of the latest schools to have its recognition status changed to being non-recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education for not following state mask mandates. The private K-12 school at 502 W Euclid Ave. was sent a letter regarding the decision last week by the board.

CLA has an enrollment of 432 students for the 2021-2022 school year. The nonpublic school is the first school or district in Cook County to see its status changed, and 60th in the state since Aug. 11. To date, the ISBE has reinstated recognition status to 24 schools and districts after they agreed to follow the policy.

"The Church of Christian Liberty and Christian Liberty Academy administrations have made the decision to honor the hundreds of requests we received from the families we serve to make the wearing of a mask by students a parental choice," Calvin Lindstrom, a pastor at CLA, told Patch. "We believe parents know best what is good for the health of their children."

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a school mask mandate (Executive Order 2021-18) on Aug. 4 with the backing of the ISBE. Pritzker and health officials say masks are necessary for both students and staff to slow the spread of COVID-19, specifically the more-contagious delta variant, among school-age children.

In a letter dated Aug. 11, ISBE Superintendent Dr. Carmen I. Ayala reached out to superintendents at schools across the state regarding the board's support of the mask mandate.

"Local boards of education, schools and school districts do not have the authority to deny the Governor's Executive Order requiring universal indoor masking in schools," Ayala said. "Doing so not only puts students' health and safety at risk, but also opens the district to extraordinary legal liability — potentially without any insurance to cover damages."

The first measure against schools not following the mask mandate, according to the ISBE, is changing the school's status to "On Probation" with a request for a corrective action plan.

"Failure to address the deficiencies would lead to nonrecognition, meaning total loss of access to state funding and loss of the school's ability to engage in Illinois High School Association and Illinois Elementary School Association athletic competitions," Ayala said.

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