(WSIL)---After Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced all schools PreK through grade 12 would require masks on school grounds, some schools decided to not follow the mandate.
Benton School District 47 said they discussed amending their current back to school plan to include requiring masks, but no action was taken. So the current plan of recommending masks is still in place.
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Now parents from all over southern Illinois want the same thing, kids in schools without masking requirements.
"I'm not against anybody who wants the vaccine and I'm not against anybody who wants their kid to wear a mask. But that's because that's their choice for their child and my choice and what's best for my family is for my kids to not wear a mask and have in-person learning," said Rebecca Flanary, from the Facebook Group Unmask Massac.
Flanary said wearing a mask all day makes her daughter claustrophobic and gives her anxiety.
"She can't concentrate. It affects her so much that she has panic attacks at school and I'm having to pick her up. She's a straight A student, and it really affects her grades. But she can't not have panic attacks because she's wearing the mask," said Flanary.
Even though there are calls against the mandate, school administrators say not following the Governor's rule could have major consequences for students and schools.
Consequences can include jeopordizing COVID insurance coverage, possible litigation, the risk of losing state funding, and possibly losing accreditation.
Despite potential fallout, Mount Vernon Township District 201 Superintendent, Melanie Andrews said there will be districts who take the risk.
"I think there will be some districts that decide that they're still going to follow that and that is their right as a Board, as a superintendent to make that recommendation," said Andrews.
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