Belleville 118 shares draft of back-to-school plan for fall, including its mask policy

Masks will be “strongly encouraged” this fall for all Belleville School District 118 staff and students who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19.

At the district’s school board meeting Tuesday night, several parents spoke against mask mandates in the fall. One parent specifically asked Superintendent Ryan Boike if he could say definitively that masks would be optional for all students.

“Can I say that right now? No, I’ll be honest with you,” Boike said. “Part of it is — and I think you guys understand this — we all love our kids, but there are certain legal liabilities and things we have as a school district. Whether it’s your attorney or your insurance saying ‘hey, let’s figure this out before you say this’ — that’s kind of where we’re at.

“I know that’s important to a lot of people, and what I would say is we have to leave things, for now, open to interpretation. There are a lot of intricacies. … So right now, I’m just going to say that, right now, if you’re not vaccinated, it’s strongly encouraged.”

The latest federal and state guidance for school reopenings says masks are strongly encouraged for anyone who isn’t vaccinated. As an elementary district serving students through eighth grade, many of Belleville 118’s students aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine, because they’re under the age of 12.

Masks are still required, regardless of vaccination status, on public transportation, which the federal guidance says includes school buses. Boike told parents that the district’s legal counsel advises that there won’t be any room to budge on mask requirements for buses.

This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.