Henry-Senachwine District Families and Staff:
School has been canceled for today, Wednesday February 16, 2022, for Henry-Senachwine Schools. This is not an E-Learning Day, so students and staff do not need to check-in online. All extracurriculars and athletics are canceled for today. Also, transportation routes to Kiefer, BEST, ACC, and Hall have been canceled for today.
An explanation for school being canceled today is provided below:
A legal decision late yesterday, February 15, 2022, rejected the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) request to reissue emergency rules for schools relative to certain COVID-19 mitigation measures, based on the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) litigation before the appellate court.
Due to this legal decision, the Henry-Senachwine Board of Education will convene during its regularly scheduled meeting this evening at 7:00 p.m. at HSHS to discuss, and potentially act on changes related to the current District COVID mitigation policy (e.g. masking, quarantining) prior to students returning to school. The public is welcome to attend.
We ask for your understanding as we navigate this fluid and legally complex situation.
* Further detail on the February 15, 2022 legal decision is referenced below:
On September 17, 2021, ISBE (Illinois State Board of Education) and IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) issued emergency rules for schools related to COVID-19 mitigation measures. Those emergency rules expired on February 14, 2022, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act which authorizes emergency rules for a period of 150 days. IDPH sought to reissue the rules in emergency form, which was rejected by JCAR (Joint Committee on Administrative Rules) on February 15, 2022, based on the pendency of the TRO litigation before the appellate court. (The Temporary Restraining Order litigation was described in a communication last week from our Board). As such, the emergency rules have expired, at least for now.