Southern Illinois students suspended for refusing to wear masks at school

Sending your child to school without a mask this fall could land them with a suspension slip in Illinois.

Marlena and Ben McCoy had their young children refuse to wear masks Monday at Crab Orchard schools in Marion, according to reporting from WSIL TV and WXIM-FM.

“We were very well prepared for that conversation. And we stood firm on where we stand and that we believe that we are not going to mask our children,” Marlena McCoy told WSIL TV. “We believe that the government is overstepping their bounds.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced an executive order mandating masks be worn by everyone inside of Illinois schools on Aug. 4, regardless of vaccination status.

Before and after the mandate, masking requirements in schools have become a very contentious issue. On Monday, the first lawsuit against Pritzker over the school mask mandate was filed in Clinton County by Tom DeVore, who has sued Pritzker many times over pandemic mandates and emergency orders.

On Wednesday, State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala sent a letter to Illinois school leaders telling them that “noncompliance is not an option” when it comes to the mask mandate.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 12:16 PM.