Video: Amanda Vinicky has an update on negotiations as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. More information from the district was shared at 9:30 p.m. Read the latest news below.
Remote learning for some 67,000 Chicago Public Schools students will continue for at least one more day as the school district and Chicago Teachers Union have yet to reach a deal on a safe school reopening plan.
CPS said students will remain learning remotely on Thursday as the district extends a “cooling-off” period while negotiations with the union continue.
“We are disappointed to report that at this time, no deal has been reached between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union leadership,” the school district said in a tweet late Wednesday. “We will extend the cooling off period for the final time through the end of the day on Thursday to allow for further negotiations tonight.”
With the announcement, in-person learning will not begin at least until next week, as Friday was already planned as a non-attendance day for students.
Progress between the sides has been made over the past few days, but the sides are still apart on issues of teacher vaccinations, a health metric for deciding when to close down schools and accommodations for educators who live with someone who has a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
K-8 students who opted for in-person learning were scheduled to return to their schools Monday, but that date has been pushed back repeatedly as the two sides work toward an agreement.
About 3,200 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students returned earlier in January.
Rank-and-file CTU members last month signaled their intent to continue working remotely until such a deal could be reached, and if CPS responded by locking them out of their Google education suites, they could go on strike.
District leaders had threatened to do just that, but on Monday, CPS CEO Janice Jackson and the mayor said they would hold off on locking anyone out “for now.” The sides took a 48-hour “cooling-off” period earlier this week that expired Wednesday, though negotiations have remained ongoing.
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