EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill — Whether local or state-mandated, knowing the rules on whether or not to wear a mask can be confusing.
"At times when kids are around other kids I noticed that my child would be like, 'Oh well mama, she don't have her mask on, he don't have his mask on,'" East St. Louis Parent Lettie Hicks said.
Lettie Hicks' 7-year old daughter is a student in the East St. Louis School District where masking is a must.
"I don't have no problem wearing a mask but sometimes the child might forget the mask, so just because the child forgot her mask, that means she cannot come in the building?" Hicks said.
The East St. Louis School District firmly believes that masks work.
The District's spokesperson Sydney Stigge-Kaufman clarified Governor J.B. Pritzker's plan to lift the statewide indoor masking requirement as it pertains to schools.
"What I read from Governor Pritzker is while the indoor mask mandate may be lessening in other indoor settings. It does not pertain to K-12," Stigge-Kaufman said.
Pritzker's plan states that masks requirements will continue where they are federally mandated, like public transit and health care facilities along with daycares and in school settings.
"The East St. Louis School District is very much committed to ensuring that we continue to provide indoor masking as a mandate within our schools as well as on our school buses," Stigge-Kaufman said.
The district plans to keep its required masking policy in place indefinitely. Hicks will continue telling her daughter to wear one for her own safety.
"Although me and my family are fully vaccinated, she has not been vaccinated as of yet, which that's another important reason why I want her to wear her mask," Hicks said.
There are about 4,800 students in the East St. Louis School system.
All of the students undergo weekly saliva testing.
The district also has a 'test-to-stay' program for students exposed to the virus.