Kane County Reporter

Elgin Area School District U46 is now requiring elementary schools students to wear masks while outside at recess.

Superintendent Tony Sanders noted the school was relaxing quarantining for students who are vaccinated.

“(S)taff and students who are 18 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters, do not need to be excluded from school if they are in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case as long as they remain asymptomatic. The same applies for asymptomatic students between the ages of 5 and 17 who have completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.”

The school system is known for its hardline stance on masking. One local parent has accused the school system of overlooking her son’s bullying because it involves students enforcing a mask mandate on him.

Elgin Area School District U46 serves almost 39,000 children, all of whom are currently subject to the mask mandate, which requires them to wear masks for virtually the entire school day.

Sanders has been in charge of U-46 since 2014. He makes $234,000 per year before a generous benefits package. The school system was noted for its high administrator pay but the Better Government Association.

Studies have found cloth masks and face coverings offer limited protection. 

One by University of Illinois at Chicago study found that "cloth masks and face coverings are likely to have limited impact on lowering COVID-19 transmission, because they have minimal ability to prevent the emission of small particles.. and offer limited personal protection with respect to small particle inhalation.”

One commentator published in The BMJ, a peer-reviewed British medical journal, noted the lack of science to show masks effective asking medical professional reading the journal “when is the Medical Profession going to speak out and take action to prevent harm to child patients?”