School Response to a Pandemic Disease Such as Coronavirus
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This page is now archived. It remains available for informational purposes. If you have questions about what was learned during the pandemic, please contact our attorneys for more information.
As anyone who worked in or near schools during the pandemic knows, the target was constantly moving and the information coming at schools was tremendously complex. Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. tried to be useful as a resource to schools, providing real-time distillation of complicated information. Everything you will find below is now out of date. However, we hope that review of its contents during a school crisis in the future may be instructive to future educators about management of a crisis.
And, of course, we hope management of such a crisis will never be needed again.
TRO Vacated by the Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court of Illinois has vacated the February 4, 2022 Temporary Restraining Order issued by Judge Grischow in both the student and employment cases before the Sangamon County Circuit Court.
The Court denied the Attorney General's appeal, but ruled that because the Appellate Court found the TRO to be moot, the TRO must therefore be vacated: "In the exercise of this Court’s supervisory authority, the February 4, 2022, temporary restraining order is vacated. (See, e.g., Felzak v. Hruby, 226 Ill.2d 382, 394 (2007) (when an appeal is rendered moot through happenstance, the judgments of the courts below are vacated).) The matter is remanded to the Circuit Court of Sangamon County."
The underlying case remains before Judge Grischow in Sangamon County.
Attorneys at Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. are available to discuss questions as may arise.
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Appeal denied as moot: https://ilcourtsaudio.blob.core.windows.net/antilles-resources/resources...(4th)%20220090-U.pdf
Judge Grischow issued a Temporary Restraining Order against all defendants including the named school districts, ISBE, IDPH, and Governor Pritzker in both the student and employment cases before the Sangamon County Circuit Court.
Attorneys at Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. are available for client-specific counsel on the matters.
The state has already moved to appeal the TRO and has asked the Court for a stay in the meantime. No ruling has occurred yet as of 10:30 a.m. February 7, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-22 - Delays Testing and Vaccination Mandate
Reopening Schools – 6 Tips
No News from ISBE and IDPH - Things to Remember as Restrictions Ease, and Planning for 2021-2022
As COVID infection rates in Illinois have continued to plummet, and even as the Delta variant of COVID becomes more prevalent in the United States, with vaccines widely available and nearly half of Illinois residents fully vaccinated, Illinois has begun to return to some degree of normal, with face coverings becoming less prevalent in public and most business back to operating at full or near-full capacity.
What Comes Next in Special Ed?
Over the past several months, many have asked what comes next in the field of special education, especially in the areas of child find, compensatory services, and the availability of COVID relief programs.
Remote Learning Days (Labor Implications)
Labor and Employment FAQ