Schools are already open in most of the United States, and the White House is encouraging the holdouts to get students into classrooms as quickly as possible.
Some 96% of districts are beginning their spring semesters with in-person instruction, but a few big-city holdouts such as Chicago are grabbing national headlines thanks to union-led efforts to keep schools closed.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION CLAIMS LIGHTFOOT LOCKED THEM OUT OF ONLINE CLASSROOMS
“We’re going to keep our children and educators, who selflessly serve their community, safe,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked about the Windy City. “[We will] ensure that children are not enduring the mental health impacts of children not being in school, that there are not gaps in learning. This includes schools everywhere, including in Chicago.”
The Chicago Teachers Union voted late Tuesday night to move all classes to remote instruction, a move city officials considered an illegal strike. The city responded by canceling classes for Wednesday, and the union now claims teachers are being locked out of virtual classrooms.
The union claims that the city’s COVID-19 protocols are insufficient due to the infection surge tied to the omicron variant and are demanding widespread testing, among other measures, before they will set foot in school buildings.
City officials have repeatedly insisted that schools are safe and that moving classes online will be harmful to students.
Boston Public Schools has also faced reopening resistance, and a few districts are beginning the spring semester online. But Psaki said that those districts are the exception, not the rule.
“As the president said yesterday, he wants schools to be open,” said Psaki. “We know they can be open safely, and we’re here to help make that happen.”
The administration’s stance on the Chicago standoff is notable because Biden has repeatedly claimed to be the most pro-union president in history. Labor organizations contributed $27.5 million to back his White House bid, and teachers unions specifically are a core Democratic constituency.
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Nonetheless, the president is strongly calling for schools to reopen in spite of the record number of COVID-19 cases facing the country, saying the best place for students to be is in the classroom.
“Schools can and should be open this winter,” Biden said Tuesday, adding that “we have all the tools to keep kids safe.”
