A private school in Elmhurst that considered beginning the school year with optional masking said it will comply with the state’s mandate on face coverings in the classroom, after the Illinois State Board of Education sent a letter to the school removing its recognition status.
Matt Davidson, superintendent of Timothy Christian Schools, said in a video posted Wednesday that the goal was to remain "mask optional" as the school looks at the legality of the state mandate.
“This isn’t an act of defiance. We’re not puffing our chest out. We’re not ramping up for some big fight,” Davidson said in the video.
The ISBE’s removal of the school’s recognition would result in high school seniors graduating with a diploma from an unrecognized school, the inability for families to participate in a tax scholarship program and the school’s ineligibility to participate in Illinois High School Association and Illinois Elementary School Association sanctioned sports.
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On Thursday, Timothy Christian Schools clarified that it will comply the mask order. But the school said that it was troubled by the ISBE’s action, specifically because its first day is not until Aug. 25 and that it never announced it would be non-compliant.
The school said it is working with the ISBE on the restoration of its recognition status.
