Governor J.B. Pritzker recently issued Executive Order 2021-20 Covid-19 Executive Order No 87, a mandate to mask while indoors. This mandate went into effect on August 30, 2021. Not stopping at masking, he also ordered that all school personnel for K-12 be vaccinated or tested weekly. In section 6 subsection b, the governor states that either the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) or Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may require testing more often than is currently designated by the executive order for both staff and students. The state intends to use the ISBE to enforce its mandates on schools.

As if this forced masking and aggressive testing is not enough, State Representative Edgar Gonzalez, Jr. (D-Chicago) has introduced a bill that goes further toward controlling private education. If passed, HB 4135 will allow the ISBE to revoke state recognition of any school, public or private that does not follow orders from the Public Health Department or emergency health orders issued by the governor.

This bill will also prevent school boards from passing resolutions that go against the IDPH or executive orders and will require schools to investigate all complaints of non-compliance.

Finally, it will give the Illinois State Superintendent of Education the authority to require a non-compliant school to go to remote learning.    

The leftist ISBE is attempting to interfere with private schools already. They are threatening the accreditation of private schools even though a legislative committee has not yet reviewed the proposed HB 4135. Recently, the ISBE contacted Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights regarding the mask mandate. The school — which has experienced explosive growth since last year — had determined each family should decide whether or not to have their child wear a mask. Policies developed resulted in success in mitigating the risk in the previous school year while allowing parents and students the freedom of choice. Regardless of the school’s previous success, the ISBE is penalizing the school over the mask policy.

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala wrote that the ISBE was immediately rescinding Christian Liberty Academy’s state recognition as a nonpublic school due to not complying with mask mandates. The revocation of their state recognition means the school can no longer participate in Illinois High School Association (IHSA) or Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) regulated sports. They and their families will also no longer be able to participate in Invest in Kids Tax Act scholarship program, a tax incentive that allows individuals and businesses to receive a 75 percent tax income credit for donations of scholarships to students in need. It seems that the ISBE is the militant arm of the state to control private education.

Take ACTION: There must be a two-fold response to this injustice. First, the schools currently accredited by the state must unite to legally fight the cancelation of accreditation. Voters can assist this fight by demanding that our legislature votes no on HB 4135. Click HERE to send a message to your state representative to ask him/her to vote against HB 4135.

The second response is to “come out from them and be separate,” as directed in 2 Corinthians 6:17. Conservative Christians eventually will not be able to depend on government oversight of education. We must find ways towards certification without the ISBE’s control. Various independent accrediting associations can provide a school with the necessary accreditation without the state’s interference.

Parents and churches should strive to fund alternative private education, as well as encourage their private schools to reject government accreditation. Private schools can come out from under the oppressive shadow of the ISBE, but we, the community, must be ready to support their efforts in every way. If you are concerned about HB 4135 and the unfair interference of the ISBE, please get in touch with your state legislators.

With the increasingly extreme attack on parental rights and medical freedom represented by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s COVID mask and vaccine mandates for schools, there has never been a better time for parents to sever all ties with the government’s “education” system.

As if the dumbing down, perverse sexualization and extreme indoctrination were not serious enough already for parents to make serious moves protecting their children, government officials in Illinois decided last month to double down on the extremism.

Among other deeply controversial policies, Gov. Pritzker decreed that all staff and even some eligible Illinois students must receive the experimental COVID injection. The Democrat governor also ordered all students over age 2, as well as all staff, to wear a face mask throughout the school day.

“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Pritzker claimed, falsely, during a press conference, citing debunked figures while ignoring the overwhelming evidence that fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized and dying in significant numbers. “People can slow the pandemic by masks and vaccinations.”

In reality, the latest data appear to show the COVID injections are practically worthless in protecting anyone from the virus — especially after some months have gone by. According to the latest government data out of the United Kingdom, (see p. 20) about two thirds of those who died from the so-called “Delta” variant were fully vaccinated at least two weeks earlier. Just 28 percent were unvaccinated.

On the mask mandate, Pritzker again appears to be ignoring actual science and data. For instance, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pointed out in his recent executive order banning mask mandates in public schools, a Brown University study found “no correlation” between masks and COVID in Florida schools.

DeSantis also pointed to studies showing an extremely low risk of children contracting a serious case of COVID. And he noted that there is no real evidence showing that counties with mask mandates fared any better than those with them during the previous school year. Even more concerning, the popular Florida governor warned of dangerous health consequences associated with face masks.

In any case, parents have the right to make medical decisions for their children, not bureaucrats and government officials, he said.

“Given the historical data on COVID-19 and the ongoing debate over whether masks are more harmful than beneficial to children and to school environments in general, we should protect the freedoms and statutory rights of students and parents by resting with the parents the decision whether their children should wear masks in school,” DeSantis said in his order.

Ironically, just two weeks before imposing his new mandates, Pritzker similarly argued that families should be involved in making decisions and that local policymakers should be making decisions for their jurisdictions.

But when not enough families and school districts bowed to the demands of the COVID totalitarians, Pritzker issued mandates and claimed to be merely following the “recommendations” of the disgraced CDC.

“Far too few school districts have chosen to follow the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescription for keeping students and staff safe,” Pritzker proclaimed. “Given the CDC’s strong recommendation, I had hoped that a state mask requirement in schools wouldn’t be necessary, but it is.”

Despite the media hysteria and the governor’s decrees, the non-profit group Illinois Policy pointed out that the number of daily deaths attributed to COVID in Illinois has been below 20 since mid-June, and COVID patients occupied just a small fraction of available ICU beds and ventilators.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, where authorities consistently advised against masks and shunned any sort of mandates at all, daily deaths have fallen to virtually zero.

Still, the threats from the governor and his supporters are already ramping up. The Illinois High School Association warned last month that any schools violating the governor’s decrees would have their student athletes banned from playoff games this fall.

Even private schools are being bullied. Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights had its state recognition revoked for failing to comply with the mandates. Adding insult to injury, Pritzker even claimed he would deny students their diplomas if schools did not comply with his edicts.

Republicans in Illinois blasted the governor’s antics. State Senator Darren Bailey, who is himself running for governor, blasted Pritzker as a “tyrant” who has overstepped his authority by issuing “unilateral mandates.”

“Unless you are part of a powerful special interest group that can help his campaign, he will continue to try and control your life,” Bailey added, saying masking should be a personal choice and that parents must “let their voices be heard on this despicable tyranny.”

One powerful way for parents to make their voices heard on this issue — and to protect their children from a wide range of other evils — is to exit the public school system entirely.

These outrageous abuses of power by Pritzker represent an attack on parental rights, medical freedom, the well being of Illinois children, and common sense. A growing amount of research is also pointing to very serious health risks poses by face masks, not to mention the catastrophic psychological damage being done.

Add to all of that the fact that in recent weeks, Pritzker signed a radical “sex ed” bill that is among the most extreme in the nation. Under the scheme, government schools will more vigorously promote abortion, promiscuity, gender confusion, homosexuality, and more.

Parents who are sick of being bullied and terrorized by out-of-control officials do have options. Homeschooling is one excellent choice that is in line with the Bible and can protect children and families from this sort of abuse. The number of homeschooling families in the state has more than doubled over the past year already.

At this point, it should be clear that government schools are not safe for children or families — and the risks extend far beyond that. Only a mass exodus can neutralize the threat and protect Illinois’ future.