Illinois State Board of Education meets with 1,200 Superintendents by tele-town halls

From the Illinois State Board of Education
March 15, 2020 

Today ISBE hosted six tele-town halls with superintendents, regional superintendents, and other educational leaders across the state. More than 1,200 called in – and ISBE is so grateful to have had the opportunity to connect.ISBE would like to restate that the statewide mandatory school closure begins March 17 and extends through at least March 30. All of the days during this initial closure March 17-30 will be considered Act of God Days and will not be made up.ISBE is encouraging all school districts to provide learning opportunities to all students, through whatever means possible. Student work during this time should not be graded, as these days are not Instructional Days. #KeepLearning at www.isbe.net/keeplearning.School districts have total flexibility over the calendar designation for tomorrow, Monday, March 16.Districts may elect on 3/16 to use an Emergency Day; a Teacher Institute Day, even if the district has already used all of its pre-planned Teacher Institute Days; a half-day of attendance; or, if a district has already exhausted all of its Emergency Days, an Act of God DayPlease be prepared to serve meals in non-congregate settings beginning on Tuesday. Our goal is that every school district has submitted the required nutrition form at https://www.isbe.net/Documents/ISBE-66-98.pdf by the end of the day tomorrow. This is one of our highest priorities.ISBE is in daily communication withGovernor JB Pritzkerand public health officials about the possibility of the closure continuing beyond March 30.ISBE is working withGovernor JB Pritzkerto explore opportunities in the philanthropic community to ensure that every public school has the technology needed to provide e-learning to all students in the immediate future, should the school closure need to go beyond Mar. 30.Superintendents: We ask that you respond to the E-Learning Tech Needs Survey at www.isbe.net/covid19 as soon as possible to tell us exactly what you need to move to a 1:1 environment at all grade levels and to provide online instruction to students.ISBE is developing robust guidance on special education and on staffing questions related to the mandatory statewide closure, as well as compiling the questions and answers from today’s tele-town halls.In the meantime, please continue to reference:- ISBE’s latest guidance document at www.isbe.net/Documents/ISBE-Guidance-Mandatory-Statewide-Closures.pdf (Mar. 14, 2020)- Governor’s Executive Order 2020-05 https://www.isbe.net/Documents/EO2020-05.pdf (Mar. 13, 2020)- Governor’s Executive Order 2020-06 https://www.isbe.net/Documents/EO2020-06.pdf (Mar. 15, 2020)ISBE has seen remarkable leadership, service, and dedication from every corner of the state. Illinois’ students are in good hands! Thank you.