Dear Superintendent and Board Members,

I’m sure you have heard there was a ruling on a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the lawsuit (Judge Grischow case :2021-CH-500002), filed by Thomas Devore on behalf of 700 parents suing school districts in Illinois, ISBE, Governor Pritzker claiming that school districts that require kids to mask (a form of quarantine) and quarantining or excluding healthy kids from school must be done by following due process under the law. Under due process if a parent does not consent to masking or exclusion from school, a school is required to go through the health department, who then must go to court and request a quarantine or mask.

Friday, February 4th 2022, the Judge granted the Temporary Restraining Order for the plaintiffs in the case against the school districts named in the lawsuit. The judge found that neither the governor, school districts, IDPH or ISBE have the authority to enforce masking/exclusion from school without following the due process under the law.

Even though AFC #275 is not listed in the lawsuit and TRO from enforcement perspective does not apply to AFC, the judge stated (see footnotes in attached TRO, page 28), enforcement of these masking/exclusion rules without due process is illegal and all schools should govern themselves accordingly.

The Judge stated actions of the governor and agencies is the kind of evil that the law was intended to refute. The governor and state agencies are trying to circumvent the law and trying to pass the buck onto school districts, while school districts point the finger at the governor's executive order and ISBE. The judge stated all of this is illegal.

I ask you to stop enforcing masking/exclusion without following the law immediately. If you choose to continue to do this voluntarily, what you are doing is illegal. Furthermore, you are opening yourself to significant liability by forcing requirements that violate due process of law. You can be sued by hundreds of parents for violation of civil rights.

Therefore, I ask you to do the right thing, and make masks optional for kids starting Monday.