Dupage Policy Journal

It's been a full calendar year since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools for in-person learning in Illinois, and while hospitalizations have dropped and more people are getting vaccinated, many schools remain shuttered.

"It's been one year since many students attended their last full week of in-person classes," Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-St. Charles) wrote in a March 16 Facebook post.

Ugaste showed his support for the move to get kids back to in-person learning five days a week by attending a rally with his daughter Tonia. He said she's been "spearheading the drive" for a return to school.

"I couldn't be more proud," he said. "Let's get our students back in school."

While some school districts have returned to the classroom full time, others still operate in a hybrid model.

On the other hand, Chicago public high school students won't resume in-person learning five days a week for another few weeks with an anticipated start date of Monday, April 19. Still, with a year of remote learning and the challenges that came with it have taken their toll on students.

"There was an enormous amount of mental health strain trauma, the number of students who are now reporting mental health, serious mental health issues, is well over 50%," Robin Steans, president of Advance Illinois, told ABC 7.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently adjusted social distancing guidelines to limit the spread of the virus in schools, dropping the space between students from 6 feet to 3 feet.

Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker's restrictions that included a slow return to the "new normal," the state is 15th in the nation for the number of coronavirus deaths per million, according to data provided by Worldometer.