FAQ -  Back-to-School Plan for 2021-22

The district does not currently have a vaccine mandate. However, on Aug. 20 the District 97 Board of Education announced that it was working with the administration and the district’s collective bargaining units to develop a plan that could lead to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all District 97 employees.

In order to facilitate contact tracing and reduce any unnecessary quarantines, District 97 is requesting that all families of students who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 voluntarily provide proof of vaccination as possible, but no later than Oct. 15, 2021. Responses will be treated and maintained as confidential school record information and will only be accessible by the school nurse, in accordance with privacy laws.

• Brooks Student COVID-19 Vaccination Disclosure Form
• Julian Student COVID-19 Vaccination Disclosure Form

Although submitting your child’s vaccination status is voluntary, failure to return the completed form will result in District 97 considering your student as unvaccinated for purposes of contact tracing and any future COVID-19 mitigation measures that may be implemented. If a student becomes eligible or obtains the vaccine after Oct. 15, please contact your school nurse immediately to provide appropriate documentation.

District 97 is currently following the guidance issued by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. In July 2021, Illinois State Superintendent Carmen Ayala issued an order stating that all schools must fully resume in-person learning for all students. Remote learning may only be provided for students who are medically fragile or under quarantine order by the state or local health department

"Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, all schools must resume fully in-person learning for all student attendance days, provided that, pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/10-30 and 105 ILCS 5/34-18.66, remote instruction be made available for students who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine or who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, only while they are under quarantine consistent with guidance or requirements from a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health." - State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Carmen Ayala

Not at this time. Per state guidelines, students who are sick or absent for reasons unrelated to confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, as determined by the local health department, will not be permitted to participate in remote learning.

Remote instruction will not be available to students who are traveling, ill with non-COVID conditions, or otherwise absent from school for non-COVID medical reasons. Students with health conditions or circumstances documented by a physician resulting in extended exclusion from school will be provided with homebound instruction services, which is consistent with current practices.

Not at this time. District 97 and the Oak Park Department of Public Health utilize the IDPH Exclusion Decision Tree to determine if individuals will be directed to quarantine due to COVID-related illness or exposure. If families are not directed to quarantine their children and they elect to keep their children home, those absences will be subject to the district’s policies and procedures for absences and truancy. 

A student who is unable to attend classes due to a valid cause of absence will be recorded as excused and the student will be provided an opportunity to make up any missed assignments and/or examinations. The following are considered a valid cause of absence: illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, family emergency, other situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the board of education, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student.

Improved ventilation is a key component of the district's COVID-19 safety mitigation plan. We have put together a two-page summary of the steps the district has taken to improve ventilation and air circulation in all of our buildings. Click here to view.

District 97 continues to follow CDC and industry standards related to ventilation in our buildings. To increase circulation and improve ventilation, we have utilized the following tools and strategies, along with designing the systems to meet International Mechanical Code, following ASHRAE standards:

• Increased introduction of outdoor air by opening outdoor air dampers beyond minimum settings to reduce or eliminate HVAC air recirculation.
• Opened classroom windows when weather conditions allow, to increase outdoor air flow.
• Rebalanced or adjusted HVAC systems to increase total airflow to occupied spaces when possible.
• Turned off any demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) controls that reduce air supply based on occupancy or temperature during occupied hours.
• Increased air filtration to as high as possible without significantly reducing design airflow.
• Verified that air filters are properly sized and within their recommended service life and inspect filter housing and racks to ensure appropriate filter fit and minimize air that flows around, instead of through, the filter.
• Ensured restroom exhaust fans are functional and operating at full capacity when the building is occupied.
• Used portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems to enhance air cleaning in higher risk areas such as a nurse’s office and isolation room.
• Ran the HVAC system at maximum outside airflow for two hours before and after the building is occupied.

Not at this time. Air purifiers were discussed previously by the District 97 Facilities Advisory Committee, and it was determined that the district would follow the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and the Illinois Department of Public Health and place air purifiers in higher-risk areas, such as nurses' offices and isolation rooms.

Ventilation and air purifiers will be discussed further at a special meeting of the District 97 Board of Education on Aug. 25, 2021.

Not at this time. All donations to District 97 are subject to Policy 8:80: Gifts to the District. Donations valued over $500 must be approved by the Board of Education and must permit the district to maintain resource equity among its learning centers. In other words, the district would need to ensure an equitable distribution of donated materials across all of its schools and learning spaces.

As of Aug. 20, 2021, the opt-out rate for all District 97 students is less than 4%.

Following the guidance of the Oak Park Department of Public Health, District 97 will not accept outside/confirmatory PCR tests following a positive SHIELD test. This is based on the fact that the SHIELD Illinois saliva test is a laboratory-based nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), which is considered the most sensitive test for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. 

According to SHIELD, the saliva testing has a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 99.8% to 99.9%, yielding very few false positives. Additionally, all positive samples are retested using the originally-collected sample to further reduce the chance of false positives. High specificity combined with frequent testing makes the SHIELD saliva-based test extremely accurate. 

Furthermore, the Illinois Department of Public Health states the SHIELD Illinois saliva test is highly-reliable and does not require an additional confirmatory test when used as a primary diagnostic test.

Yes, families can opt their students into or out of testing at any time. To opt out of weekly PCR testing, please complete the SHIELD Opt-Out Form. To opt back into testing, please contact the school directly.

Because the state has mandated full in-person learning with limited criteria for remote instruction, District 97 no longer has two options for school (in-person or remote). Without an alternative for those who opt out of testing, the district cannote mandate testing for all students.

District 97 follows the direction of the Oak Park Department of Public Health, per IDPH guidelines, regarding travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. As of the issuance of this plan, the Village of Oak Park adopted the travel advisory issued by the City of Chicago and the Cook County Department of Public Health. The advisory includes recommendations; there are no current mandates for individuals who voluntarily travel. This guidance is subject to change based on the level of community transmission.

Not at this time. Per state guidelines, students who are sick or absent for reasons unrelated to confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, as determined by the local health department, will not be permitted to participate in remote learning.