Fifth Circuit Associate Judge Karen E Wall has denied temporary restraining order requests from both Danville District 118 teachers and Hoopeston Area District 11 parents concerning being required to follow two separate state mandates concerning COVID. The Danville teachers did not want to have to submit to a COVID vaccination or weekly COVID testing in order to keep working, and the Hoopeston parents did not want their kids to be required to wear masks in school, in order to be able to attend.
In both cases, attorney Bethany Hager stated that the mandates were coming from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the governor; and that meant the school districts did not have to follow them, because the order would have to come from a local entity, such as a county health department. There were dozens of supporters outside the courthouse with signs supporting the plaintiffs, and the noise from them, and honking horns going by could be clearly heard in courtroom 1A at the Vermilion County Courthouse.
But in both cases, Judge Wall stated that the school districts had to follow the state mandates for the overall good of all students. Because if they did not, the districts could lose their funding, lose their right to participate in state sanctioned extra-curriculars, and a high school diploma from their districts would no longer have certification. The judge also pointed out that an updated COVID report from the Vermilion County Health Department earlier in the week showed 60 new COVID cases countywide, with 40 of those individuals being under the age of 20.
The judge said the plaintiffs’ action in both cases was misplaced, and that they should take the issue up with the governor, IDPH, or the ISBE. The judge also stated that changes in the Illinois Administrative Code since the start of the pandemic, changes that the school districts did not initiate, allows these state actions to be taken, regardless of the inconveniences they may cause.
The case involving the District 118 plaintiffs will be back in court for a preliminary injunction hearing on Wednesday, October 20th, at 11 AM. As for the case involving Hoopeston parents, the Hoopeston Area District 11 attorney’s request for class action certification on this case will be heard on the 20th as well.
