Elmhurst D-205 Pushes State To Loosen Rules

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205's superintendent last week joined her colleagues in DuPage County to push for loosening state rules for quarantining of students.

Superintendent Linda Yonke and others wrote a letter to the Illinois School Board of Education asking to change "mismatched guidelines."

"It's frustrating for us, and it's frustrating for parents," Yonke told the school board this week.

The superintendents noted the reduction of social distancing to 3 feet helped them reopen their schools in the last couple of months.

But they said the state still requires them to quarantine those students who were within 6 feet of those diagnosed with the coronavirus.

A few positive cases, they said, results in large-scale quarantining of students, which is hurting entire schools.

"We are seeing students opting to remain in remote learning, against what both they and we as educators would likely prefer, simply to avoid being unnecessarily quarantined as a result of this rule," the superintendents said in their May 5 letter.

Students also are remaining remote to avoid quarantines that would prevent them from taking part in graduation, senior celebrations, and athletic and extracurricular competitions.

Patch left a message for comment with a spokeswoman for the state school board.