CPS on Thursday announced it had laid off 703 employees, including 286 teachers, as part of its annual staffing adjustments, which the district said are caused by declining enrollment, changing student demographics and programmatic changes.

An ordinance that would terminate the $33 million contract between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department failed to advance Wednesday, but supporters of the measure vowed to continue their campaign.

Public school districts in Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle have recently suspended or outright terminated their contracts with local police departments. Could Chicago Public Schools be next?

During a virtual ceremony on Sunday, Oprah Winfrey told Chicago’s graduating high school seniors they are being called to “reckon with our country’s past and determine a more equitable future for black and brown people.”

Oprah. Cubs. White Sox. Blackhawks. “Hamilton.” These are a few of the teams and celebrities who will help send off the class of 2020 during Chicago’s citywide virtual graduation this weekend.

The daughter of Indonesian immigrants, Chasity Kasir said the traits of hard work and respect were instilled in her from a young age. This weekend, she’ll graduate from Richard T. Crane Medical Preparatory High School at the top of her class.

“Yeah we’re not gonna do that,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a Friday morning press conference when asked if she would consider canceling CPS’ existing contract with the Chicago Police Department. “Unfortunately, we need security in our schools.”

Students who count on Chicago Public Schools for meals will not be able to get food from the district on Monday, due to “the evolving nature of activity across the city.”

The head of Chicago Public Schools said the district will continue honing its remote learning program over the summer as it prepares for the possibility of additional classroom closures in the fall due to COVID-19.

The percentage of Chicago Public Schools students accessing materials and getting grades has steadily risen during the remote learning period, but new data shows some high-need populations have fallen behind.

Chicago teachers say they’re being diverted from their teaching duties and forced to fulfill a “physically impossible mandate” of rewriting tens of thousands of individual education plans for special education students.

Illinois is seeking to create an “army” of contact tracers, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said earlier this month. A suburban college is hoping to meet that demand.

The Northwest Side neighborhood has emerged as a COVID-19 hot spot, reporting the second highest number of cases in Illinois. We learn how Christopher House is serving the community during the pandemic.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, 70, has been moved from the Federal Prison Camp Alderson in West Virginia where she has been serving her 4.5-year sentence. Her attorney confirmed she will serve the rest of that sentence under home confinement.

A pair of educators are suing the Chicago Teachers Union and the Board of Education, claiming their First Amendment rights “to stop subsidizing CTU and its speech” have been violated by an “unconstitutional policy” forcing them to pay union dues.

The lawsuits say students should pay lower rates for the portion of the term that was offered online, arguing that the quality of instruction is far below the classroom experience. Colleges, though, reject the idea that refunds are in order.