There are several factors to be considered by our Board of Education as they make decisions regarding our Tentative Back-to-School Plan. This is the information that we, as a school district, have been provided.
As always, it is the goal of the Board of Education to make decisions based upon what is best for our students. St. Elmo CUSD #202 Board of Education will meet in special session on Monday, August 30, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. to consider possible revisions to our Tentative Back-to-School plan.
ISBE Probation
St. Elmo CUSD #202 received notification from ISBE that our current recognition status has been lowered to “on probation”. Our official ISBE Conference is scheduled for Monday, August 30, 2021. We will then have 60 days to submit an “approvable corrective action plan.” Failure to do so will result in the district’s status being lowered to “Non-recognized.”
Potential Effects of Loss of Recognition Status:
● If a school district loses Recognition status, the school district is no longer able to issue high school diplomas.
▪ High School seniors will be required to get a High School Equivalency Test (GED or HiSET) to be admitted into any Public State University and some Private Universities.
▪ Special Education students would be subject to the same High School Equivalency Test (GED or HiSET) and would receive very few accommodations if any.
▪ Students will not be eligible to apply for several scholarships.
● If a school district loses Recognition status, the school will lose both state and federal funding. (This accounts for approximately 75% of our revenue.)
IHSA/IESA Regulations
IHSA/IESA have announced that schools who are not in compliance with the mask mandate will not be allowed to participate in State Series Events. This includes Regional, Sectional, and State Tournaments. IHSA/IESA have compliance dates set. September 3rd for IESA (JH softball and JH baseball) and September 22nd for IHSA (HS golf) and October 7th (HS volleyball).
Mask Mandate
Governor Pritzker announced August 26th that all Illinois residents over the age of two will be required to wear a mask in all indoor settings, effective Aug. 30. The requirement is applicable to both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents statewide. He also announced that all school personnel will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to at least weekly testing.