Hundreds of Central Illinois students without required proof of immun…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Hundreds of desks at some Central Illinois schools are empty. It’s because many students failed to prove they got their vaccinations and physicals.

As of Monday, Springfield Public Schools District #186 said 135 students have been excluded from school.

“However, we were in the 1000s a few weeks ago and just last week, we were at 268,” Jennifer Gill, the district’s superintendent, said in a school board meeting Monday.

State law requires families to submit proof that they’ve met those requirements by Oct. 15, but that deadline has come and gone.

“After the state’s date, even if they have an appointment, we have to go ahead and exclude them,” Gill said. “They can get their schoolwork, they can make up anything when they get back. It’s just [that] they can’t be at school by school code.”

During the meeting, Buffy Lael-Wolf, a member of the Springfield Public Schools District #186 Board of Education, expressed…