Greetings Early Childhood Community,
Given new information on the Delta variant, as of July 27, 2021, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) fully aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas with substantial and high transmission.
On August 4, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker announced that all students, teachers, and staff at pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools and day care facilities are required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, effective immediately. This announcement is in line with recommendations from the CDC Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools and the CDC COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs. 
Illinois Executive Order 2021-18, also issued on August 4, 2021, states:

All public and nonpublic schools in Illinois serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students must follow the joint guidance issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the IDPH.


Both schools and day care facilities are to take proactive measures to ensure the safety of children, staff, and visitors, including, but not limited to:

  • Requiring the indoor use of face coverings by students, staff, and visitors who are age 2 and older and able to medically tolerate a face covering, regardless of vaccination status, consistent with CDC guidance; and,  

  • Implementing other layered prevention strategies (such as physical distancing, screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, advising individuals to stay home when sick and get tested, contact tracing in combination with appropriate quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection) to the greatest extent possible and taking into consideration factors such as community transmission, vaccination coverage, screening testing, and occurrence of outbreaks, consistent with CDC guidance.
IDPH and ISBE have released COVID-19 School Guidance FAQs to help P-12 school administrators and local health officials select appropriate, layered prevention strategies in order to keep in-person learning environments safe for students and staff during times of fluctuating transmission.

Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting vaccination among eligible individuals can help early childhood education and care programs protect staff and children, as well as their families.
Jamilah R. Jor'dan, PhD
Executive Director
Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD)
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