The absence of an agreement on how best to protect teachers and students from COVID-19 sets the stage for a strike or lockout — the second work stoppage in Chicago schools in 15 months.

A plan to reopen Chicago schools remained in limbo as last-minute negotiations over COVID-19 safety measures with the teachers’ union stretched into Sunday, amplifying the possibility of a strike. 

Negotiations between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have failed to produce a deal to allow approximately 70,000 Chicago students to return to schools Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a news conference late Friday night.

Thousands of pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students within Chicago Public Schools are once again being told to stay home Friday as the school district and Chicago Teachers Union have yet to reach a deal on a school reopening plan.

As of Thursday night, a deal to get teachers back in school remained elusive. “We would have expected by now to make a lot more progress,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A possible teachers strike over safety issues looms as city and state COVID-19 mitigations are being rolled back. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky and Heather Cherone weighs in on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Is it time to return to in-person learning? Two parents of Chicago Public Schools students share their views as negotiations over a school reopening plan continue between the district and the Chicago Teachers Union.

For the second day in a row, Chicago Public Schools is telling the parents of pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students to keep their kids at home Thursday as the district and Chicago Teachers Union have not yet reached agreement on a safe school reopening plan.

Board President Miguel del Valle on Wednesday said Chicago Public Schools “sincerely wants to come to an agreement” with the Chicago Teachers Union on a safe school reopening plan as a potential teachers strike looms.

In a letter to parents, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said the district has “no choice but to ask parents to keep your children home” after the teachers union instructed its members not to report for in-person work Wednesday ahead of a possible strike.

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said as Illinois moves into Phase 1B of vaccinations, a category that includes teachers, city leadership should prioritize staff at Chicago Public Schools.

The Chicago Teachers Union said Sunday that its members voted to defy an order to return to the classroom over concerns about COVID-19, setting up a showdown with district officials who have said that refusing to return when ordered would amount to an illegal strike.

Chicago Public Schools said 60% of the 5,352 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students who opted for in-person learning showed up at their school last week. That amounts to about 3,200 students.

Voting members of the Chicago Teachers Union approved a resolution Wednesday night which could mark the first step toward a potential strike if the union can’t reach a deal with Chicago Public Schools on a safe reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson said the school district is still having conversations with the Chicago Teachers Union on in-person staffing levels, and she believes “we’ll get to a resolution on that.” But she said the conversation can no longer be about whether or not to reopen schools.

The head of Chicago Public Schools said the district is “willing to compromise” on an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union to safely reopen schools as the first week of in-person learning since last spring comes to a close.