By America Puente
@amepuente
Chicago Public Schools is dropping its mask mandate on Monday. The sharp decline in cases of COVID-19 in the city has lifted many restrictions across the city since the end of February.
While most Illinois school districts have switched to optional mask policies, CPS waited for the green light from city officials. It took into consideration the vaccination rates across different ethnic, age and gender communities with the CPS system. The importance of testing with these new optional mask policies is a major priority, officials say. Knowing whether people have COVID-19, a common cold or seasonal allergies will be key to keeping the city’s numbers low.