On Tuesday evening, after comments from over a dozen community members, the New Trier Board of Education voted unanimously to go mask-optional starting Wednesday.

The decision comes on the heels of an appellate court ruling earlier on Friday holding the ruling of a lower court that schools can go mask-optional. It is at the discretion of the individual school district as to whether students can choose not to wear a mask.

In an email sent to families on Friday, Superintendent Paul Sally wrote “this change will have a significant impact on some of our students, so I appreciate your continued support and patience while we take Tuesday to transition the school community to mask optional beginning Wednesday.”

In his presentation to the Board, Sally detailed reasons why the school believes going mask-optional is safe, including high vaccination rates and low cases, as well as other factors.

“When we look at the state of the pandemic, we need to think about how severe it is. And you can see the list of things that we consider, certainly the seriousness around transmissibility, the prevalence in our school and our community, the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments, and hospital capacity,” he said.

Sally explained that the board’s philosophy behind the decision aligns with the need for collective to individual action.

“When we started this pandemic, we had a situation where there were a lot of unknowns. There weren’t vaccines, we didn’t know what the impact was going to be, and so I think most of us were thinking that we needed collective action to respond to this, and that’s what we need… As we move through this pandemic… where we are right now… we certainly understand that collective action may continue to be needed, and our resolution will allow for that. But we also know that many of the individual actions that we can take can be the right things for individuals to do.”

Sally also laid out the legal basis for the decision. Previously, under the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), emergency rules had required face coverings to be worn. However, on Feb. 15, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules did not extend the IDPH’s emergency rules, providing the legal framework for going mask-optional.

According to Sally, the Board wrote a letter to the governor to make sure that they would be allowed to take this step,  although a few days later the appellate court affirmed in its ruling that schools could go mask-optional because the emergency rules had not been extended. 

“There still are substantive issues that remain in this case, but as of now, we are no longer subject to the executive order,” said Sally.

The school will have N95 and KN95 masks for students who want them, as well as offer Shield testing throughout the year. Sally also stated that the school is working with students and staff who are “medically more vulnerable.”

Many board members expressed that administrators will continue to monitor data and can go back to requiring masking if conditions get worse.

“This decision is an acknowledgement that the current circumstances warrant the modification of our response to COVID from a more collective approach to an individualized approach,” said board member Jean Hahn.

Many community members were at the board meeting to give their opinions during the hour allocated for public comments. 

New Trier parent Shelley Shelly spoke in support of the mask-optional policy.

“I definitely support masks being optional. Masks can hinder social development in our teenagers and hinders confidence in many,” she said. “It’s easy to hide behind masks. Let’s give our kids the choice.”

New Trier parent Amy Mattle spoke in favor of requiring masks.

“In-person learning is very crucial to the development of our students emotionally and socially, as well as academically. The Board and faculty serve as an example of the kind of leadership that is needed for our children for their steadfast commitment to all students.”

Sally said that although the school is taking this step, he still acknowledges that the pandemic is ongoing.

“I am not saying that the pandemic is over– it’s not– but I am saying that this is another point within the pandemic where we can shift our approach.”