In June 2025, the District 97 Board of Education approved our application to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for a three-year waiver of the state’s physical education (PE) requirements. This waiver allows Brooks and Julian Middle Schools to continue offering PE on an A/B rotation under the new master schedule beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
ISBE informed the district in July that the application was incomplete because of a technicality. Specifically, the public notice did not explicitly list the address of the hearing. It stated that a public hearing would be held June 10, 2025, at 7 p.m. during the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting, and did not include the location of the meeting (260 Madison St.).
Although we followed the same process approved for the elementary waiver in 2024 and met with ISBE to identify this discrepancy, we will need to repeat the hearing and resubmit the application to ensure full compliance with ISBE requirements.
A new public hearing will be held Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. during the regular meeting of the District 97 Board of Education. The meeting will take place in the board room of the District 97 Administration Building, located at 260 Madison St. Oak Park, IL 60302.
What Does This Mean for Students, Families and Staff?
- Nothing about our board-approved PE waiver for the middle school master schedule is changing. We will bring forward exactly the same plan as was approved by our board on June 10, 2025.
- The new master schedule will move forward as planned for 2025-26.
- Students will still have PE every other day on an A/B schedule.
- The waiver is still required for compliance with Illinois law, and repeating the process is simply a technical step.
We remain deeply committed to supporting the holistic well-being of our students. To learn more about the new middle school master schedule—including the physical education waiver process—please visit our Middle School Master Schedule FAQ.