Parents file class action lawsuit against Peoria-area school districts over COVID rules

Parents from eight Peoria-area school districts are participating in a lawsuit aimed at abolishing mask requirements in schools.

The class action lawsuit against 140 school districts around Illinois was filed Wednesday at the Macoupin County courthouse in Carlinville. Parents from Dunlap, two school districts in Metamora, Germantown Hills, Eureka, Brimfield, Morton and Limestone in Bartonville are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The 11-county complaint names 140 school districts, Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois State Board of Education superintendent Carmen Ayala and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, as defendants.

A hearing before Seventh Circuit Judge April Troemper is set for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in Carlinville.

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The superintendent of District 122 in Metamora said they were aware of the lawsuit, but not in any official capacity.

"We have zero documentation other than what we've found online," said Sean O’Laughlin on Thursday afternoon. "Until somebody tells us otherwise, we're going to follow the mandates that the Governor, IDPH and ISBE have put out, and if there is a court order, then the court order trumps that until it's actually litigated. So right now we're effectively in a holding pattern."

Some of the parents in the complaint shared their views on the issue prior to filing the complaint, said O'Laughlin. A dozen parents or guardians from District 122 were named in the complaint. 

"We have had parent contact at board meetings and had conversations with a variety of parents, including the ones listed – not all of them – but also additional parents who have shared their concerns on both sides of the issue with the district," O'Laughlin said. "We have heard from all sides throughout the pandemic about their feelings regarding masking and the quarantine."

Other parents who added their names to the complaint include six from Germantown Hills School District 69; 13 from Eureka Community Unit District 140; 10 from Metamora Community Consolidated School District 1; seven from Brimfield Community Unit School District 309; nine from Morton Community Unit School District 709; four from Limestone Community High School District 310. 

The lawsuit questions the mask mandate and a school’s ability to exclude students and deny in-person learning without a lawful order of quarantine from a local health department.

Pritzker issued an executive order Aug. 26 requiring masks in Illinois schools for teachers, students, staff and visitors. Masks are required regardless of vaccination status.

Pritzker said the mandate would protect unvaccinated children and adults, as well as the elderly and others with reduced immune systems who are more likely to develop “breakthrough” infections of COVID-19 even after they get vaccinations.

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The lawsuit contended that IDPH and ISBE are not lawful authorities on which school districts can base mask and exclusion policies.

The lawsuit was filed by Greenville attorney Thomas DeVore, who has filed a number of lawsuits around the state related to the governor's executive orders issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.