What does school quarantine in Illinois look like? Tell us your experience.

Senn High School students share which colleges they will be attending during English class on the first week back to classrooms on April 23, 2021.
High school students gather in a Chicago classroom during the first week of in-person classes in April. As a new school year unfolds, Chalkbeat wants to hear more about quarantine experiences for students and educators. (Max Herman for Chalkbeat)

With most Illinois students back in classrooms this fall but children age 11 and under still waiting for vaccines, schools across the state are grappling with yet another new COVID-19 reality: quarantined classrooms. 

In Chicago Public Schools, nearly 5,500 students and staff have been identified as close contacts of a confirmed COVID case since the start of school, which would make them candidates for quarantine, according to data made public by the school district on Wednesday. 

The state does not publicly post the number of students in quarantine, but in the past 30 days, it has logged school exposures at 1,478 campuses across the state and outbreaks of two or more campus-related cases at 128 schools. 

State guidelines say that districts can quarantine certain students, classrooms, or even entire schools in consultation with health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines encourage schools to quarantine only COVID-19 positive students and staff, unvaccinated individuals, and those with symptoms. 

We want to know what quarantine looks like for educators and students across the state. Please contribute to our reporting by answering the questions below. Having trouble viewing the form on mobile? Go here.

The Latest

Public schools are required by federal law to provide special education pre-K services, but they receive minimal federal and state funding to do so.

The goal is to build communication skills that lead to positive experiences with friends and teachers, which in turn improve attendance and academics.

National test results from the most recent school year show gaps based on race and household income narrowing slightly in math. Reading is a different story.

Only a few top officials remain in the office that oversees the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the employees union said.

Nearly everyone below the director level in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is set to lose their job, an employee union said.

Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has reignited the debate over gifted and talented in NYC. New data reveals the program is becoming more diverse, but challenges remain.