Many Springfield-area school districts are going mask-optional in the wake of Friday’s court ruling striking down the state school mask mandate.
Ball-Chatham, Auburn, Tri-City, and a number of other area school districts say that masks will continue to be encouraged, but not required, while the ruling is under appeal.
But not every Central Illinois school district is loosening the restrictions. Edwardsville schools say masks will only be optional for students whose families were party to the lawsuit, but will remain mandatory for all others. And Champaign schools say they don’t believe they are covered by the court ruling, and will continue to mandate masks.
