Illinois schools must return to the classroom this fall after state board vote

Illinois schools will be required to resume fully in-person learning in the fall.

The Illinois State Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a resolution Wednesday that requires all student attendance days to be in-person, after school districts turned to remote learning this year because of COVID-19.

“It’s a signal to people to begin to think about getting ready for in-person learning,” State Superintendent Carmen Ayala said.

The only exception in the resolution that requires districts to offer remote instruction is for students who are both ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and are under a quarantine order.

In Illinois School Code, there are other limited provisions that require schools to provide different modes of learning, including home or hospital learning.

Trisha Olson, legal counsel for ISBE, told the board that districts have other options to allow for remote learning for students if they choose to do so — those options just wouldn’t be required of schools under the resolution.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 12:17 PM.