Public officials in major cities across the country are sparring with teachers unions that are pushing for schools to close, just as a new semester is beginning.
Record COVID-19 cases nationwide and the end of winter break have emboldened teachers unions that are claiming the rise of the omicron variant poses a threat to educators that requires a return to virtual instruction.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION MULLS STRIKE TO BLOCK RETURN TO CLASSROOMS
But public officials have largely resisted the pressure from these unions, as most districts have returned for in-person instruction, citing the negative impacts that closing schools could have on students.
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago public schools returned from winter break Monday for in-person classes, despite numerous threats from the Chicago teachers union to initiate a labor dispute to force classes online.
The union is demanding a long list of mitigation measures, including two weeks of remote instruction, universal masking with N95 masks only, and an automatic return to remote learning any time school staff and students reach a 20% threshold of infections.
The demands have yet to be met, and the union will vote Tuesday on whether or not to endorse a return to remote learning and refuse to step foot in schools. In a statement last week, the union blasted Lori Lightfoot, the city’s mayor, for refusing to “take leadership in protecting families and communities from COVID.”
“Unfortunately, our union is again being backed into a corner of being the leader in the city that the mayor refuses to be,” union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said in a statement reported by ABC 7.
In a Monday statement, the day the district resumed classes, Lightfoot said the city “cannot ignore the sad lessons of a whole district resorting to remote learning. … We cannot forget that shifting fully to remote is not a panacea and comes with significant harm to students and their families.”
NEW: Statement from @chicagosmayor
“The best thing that we can do for our students, staff and all our partners at CPS is to get vaccinated. Keeping kids safely in school where they can learn and thrive is what we should all be focused on.” pic.twitter.com/XWxT3socTH
— Ryan Johnson (@Ryan_Johnson) January 3, 2022
Los Angeles Unified School District
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced Monday that schools would open a day later than initially planned following winter break and that all students would be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test in order to return. Students and faculty will be tested weekly at least through the month of January.
School officials will also be required to wear medical-grade masks in school buildings. Students will still be allowed to wear standard cloth masks.
The school district will now begin classes on Tuesday, Jan. 11, with Monday designated as a “Pupil Free Day” for school staff and faculty.
LA school officials had previously mandated that all students receive a COVID-19 vaccine before the start of the spring semester but scrapped those plans after mass noncompliance would have led to 30,000 students being forced online.
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Detroit public schools stood apart from most major cities that ensured schools opened on time for the spring semester.
School officials announced Tuesday that the first two weeks of classes would only be offered virtually and wouldn’t even begin until Thursday due to logistical constraints. The district was supposed to begin the new term on Monday.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the rise in the city’s COVID-19 case rate required the move to online instruction but added: “We are committed to returning to in person learning as soon as city infection rates decrease to safer levels.”
“Any return to in person learning with infection rates this high, coupled with current low student and family vaccination rates, will lead to extreme levels of positive cases and quarantining that leads to staff shortages and student absenteeism,” Vitti said.
New York City Public Schools
In the nation’s largest city, a new mayor inherited a dispute with the New York City teachers union from his predecessor but is reiterating the city’s commitment to ensuring schools remain open.
Eric Adams took office shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day and immediately faced a request from the United Federation of Teachers, which demanded the city’s public schools switch to remote instruction “for at least a couple of days,” citing uncertainty over staffing levels.
“Teachers are informing us that they cannot come in. Their child tested positive. They tested positive. We’ve seen COVID over the holidays that we never saw before,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement reported by CBS New York.
At least one teacher has taken action, filing a lawsuit against the city seeking a ruling that would have blocked the city from reopening schools for the spring semester. Classes began Monday despite the union’s opposition.
DC Public Schools
The nation’s capital delayed its planned school reopening, but not because of coronavirus cases. A blizzard that swept through the D.C. area crippled the city and prompted D.C. public schools to delay their planned start of the spring semester.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Schools were scheduled to begin classes on Wednesday but will now open on Thursday as the district works to complete a massive COVID-19 testing requirement for every staffer and student.
