CPS and Lurie announced Thursday they’ll ensure every district-run school can participate in the program, which helps identify and address students in need of mental health support.

The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously approved a calendar for the 2022-23 school year that sees students return to classes on Aug. 22, a full week earlier than they did during the current year.

“This year’s school budgets prioritize support for core instruction to improve the classroom experience and set a new standard of excellence,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said.

“I don’t anticipate, you know, more serious consequences in terms of work stoppages,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said, “but we will continue to work together because we have it in both our best interests to keep our community safe.”

The school district said it will move to a mask-optional model for all staff and across all grade levels on March 14.

Despite a safety agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union that requires universal masking in schools until the end of the academic year, CPS officials on Wednesday said there may come a time sooner in which masks will not be mandatory.

Last month, there were more than 700 special education students who had still not been routed onto a bus during the current academic year. But as of this week, each one of those children are now receiving their legally mandated transportation from the district.

“A swift return to in-person instruction gives faculty and students the best opportunity to teach and learn — and thrive amid their school community,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Monday.

“I want to make sure that our team reflects the diversity (in Chicago), because it’s one of the riches of our city,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Wednesday during the monthly Board of Education meeting.

CPS has been criticized in recent days for not telling students and families that it changed the way positive cases among students and staff are reported on its online dashboard.

Under a new statewide compromise, public school and higher ed employees across Illinois won’t have to expend their sick time if they are forced to miss work due to COVID-19 — as long as they’re fully vaccinated.

More than 14,000 students and staff within Chicago Public Schools are currently either quarantining or in isolation due to COVID-19, but the district will soon be shortening the amount of time those people need to stay home from school.

Rank-and-file CTU members on Wednesday signed off on the deal, two days after the union’s elected delegates voted to suspend a labor action that saw the vast majority of teachers refusing to work in person amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Efforts to use COVID-19 testing to ensure outbreaks could be stamped out before they catch fire was at the heart of the dispute between school officials and union leaders.

Talks between Chicago school leaders and the teachers' union resumed Sunday amid a standoff over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures that canceled three days of classes. 

While a few school buildings may be open to students, Chicago Public Schools has once again canceled classes as negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union continue.