CHICAGO—The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has punished 39 public school districts with a total enrollment of nearly 30,000 students as of Aug. 23 for not following Governor J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate, according to ISBE records. The schools have been placed on probation. If they don’t conform to the mask mandate in two months, they will be unrecognized by ISBE, lose state funding, and cannot take part in certain statewide athletic competitions, according to a letter sent to district superintendents from Illinois State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “The [governor’s] executive order has the force of law,” Ayala said in the letter. “I understand the pressure some school and district leaders may be facing from community members … However, noncompliance is not an option.” Ayala added that nonconforming schools might bring upon themselves “extraordinary legal liability” with no insurance to cover the monetary damages. Many schools …