There are many schools in our area that are making masks optional. These include El Paso Gridley, Metamora, Roanoke Benson, and Eureka. Why is it that we are one of the only schools in our area that hasn't made masks optional? It is our right as citizens to make choices concerning our own health. With this option students and staff that feel the need to wear a mask, will still have that right. The students that don't feel the need to wear a mask should not be forced to. With this mandate lifted, the right to make our own choices will come again.  The Awake Illinois group stated, “On February 4, 2022, Judge Grischow ruled that neither the governor, Illinois department of health, Illinois state board of education. Or the local school district has the authority to mask your children or exclude them from school, without a court order. It doesn’t matter whether their school district was named in the case, or your child was named in the lawsuit. Any attempt to defy due process is illegal.” This is exactly what are school is defying.