Christian Academy Says It Won't Follow IL Health, Safety Rules
YORKVILLE, IL — Just days after the State of Illinois released new health guidelines for faculty and students set to return to classrooms in the fall, an attorney representing Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville notified state officials it won't follow recommended health and safety guidelines for reopening schools.
In a letter issued Friday from law firm Silver Lake Group, Ltd., to State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala off the Illinois State Board of Education and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, from the Illinois Department of Health, Attorney Thomas DeVore claims the state officials failed to included any citation to the United States Constitution, Illinois Department of Health Act, Illinois School Code, or "any legitimate legal source" in resources cited in a 63-page "Part 3-Transition Joint Guidance" released to schools, colleges and universities across the state Tuesday.
The letter also says that Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledged during a recent news conference that no mechanism for enforcing the health and safety guidelines exists, and "as such, reasonable and intelligent people must conclude that a purported 'rule'" that has no enforcement mechanism "in in fact not a rule, but merely a recommendation."
Illinois Coronavirus Update June 26: 139,434 Cases, 6,810 Deaths; Don't miss updates about precautions in the Yorkville area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.
According to the state, schools and universities will be responsible for developing and implementing their reopening plans in line with general state guidelines, such as mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing, increased cleaning and disinfection, and at-school symptom screenings.
In addition, the letter sent on behalf of Parkview Christian claims the state officials failed "to reference any legislative act which delegated to each of your agencies in the authority to place such demands upon schools, parents or our children."
Attorney DeVore added that generalized health regulations have for centuries "been deemed beyond" state authority by our Supreme Court, citing Barmore v. Robertson, 134 N.E. 815, 817 (Ill.1922), in which the Illinois Supreme Court acknowledged health regulations can't be "arbitrary and unreasonable.
The letter concludes with the attorney mentioning additional protocols chosen by the school will not include a requirement that staff, parents or children be required to wear any type of face covering.
This article originally appeared on the Yorkville Patch
