Chicago Public Schools students will stay at home for a second consecutive day Thursday, as the district has once again canceled classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted to begin working remotely.

The Chicago Teachers Union announced late Tuesday that its rank-and-file members voted in favor of a measure to halt in-person work and transition to remote work Wednesday as it continues negotiating a deal with the city and school district over additional health and safety measures.

The Chicago Teachers Union is set to vote Tuesday evening on a labor action that would see its 25,000 members work fully remotely beginning Wednesday. If that measure is approved, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said he’ll have no choice but to cancel classes.

In the face of a potential walkout by Chicago Teachers Union members, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said he is committed to putting in place COVID-19 cases metrics for closing schools and classrooms.

“I am so pissed off that we have to continuously fight for the basic necessities, the basic mitigations … this makes no sense,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said Monday.

“By getting tested before returning from break, we can have a successful and healthy start to the new year,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a statement.

“We’re gonna have to see what happens with omicron, but I do not expect that we will be making plans to move entirely remotely and certainly not for extended periods, even if that were a thing,” Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

Under the pilot, an unvaccinated student who is exposed to COVID-19 would be allowed to stay in school if they agree to testing on the first, third, fifth and seventh day after their exposure.

"The behavior uncovered revealed a stunning betrayal of trust and colossal failure of judgment in character on the part of far too many individuals," CPS CEO Pedro Martinez told media during a press conference Friday morning.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez on Wednesday said his team is beginning to set up plans and solidify a specific health metric that can be used to decide when to shut down in-person learning within a school or across the district itself.

While the COVID-19 vaccine has now been approved for younger children, Chicago could find itself in the midst of another coronavirus surge this winter if families wait too long to get their children vaccinated, the city’s top doctor said Tuesday.

“Our schools have been incredibly resilient throughout this pandemic, and CPS is committed to supporting our dedicated principals and staff as we navigate the unique challenges of the past and current school years,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a statement.

Chicago Public Schools on Wednesday announced that its 20th-day enrollment stands at 330,411 students. That’s a 3% decline from the 340,658 students who were enrolled in the district last year.

CPS officials on Thursday announced a five-year graduation rate for its high school students, while the district simultaneously recorded its lowest-ever one-year dropout rate.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said those staffers who are not fully vaccinated by Friday’s deadline must consent to weekly testing, but will not be immediately barred from working, as had previously been threatened.

Who would have imagined that students and their parents would be upset about not enough testing in schools? But that’s the case in Chicago, where the district’s been slow to roll out COVID-19 testing.