District’s response to Union’s August 10 proposal for vaccination mandate for teachers and staff will establish employee vaccination policy, but CPS must do more to provide safety and recovery to school communities.
CHICAGO, August 13, 2021 — The Chicago Teachers Union issued the following statement today regarding Chicago Public Schools’ response to the Union’s proposal on vaccinations for educators and staff:
For months, our members have been working to educate our students, their parents and the larger community about the importance of vaccinations and mitigation strategies to keep Chicago safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes pressing Mayor Lori Lightfoot to establish a robust vaccination program through the schools — an area where CPS and the City must do much more.
CPS’ response today to our formal proposal from August 10 mirrors the vaccination policy agreement we landed with Epic Academy Charter School earlier this week. CPS’ announcement sets a deadline for employee vaccination, requires mandatory testing for unvaccinated staff in the interim and provides exemptions for employees who cannot be vaccinated for bona fide medical or religious reasons.
We urge the mayor’s CPS team to build on this safety standard by concretely addressing critical outstanding safety issues, and investing CPS’ and the City’s $4 billion in federal relief funds in what our students and families need to return to schools safely this fall, and for schools to remain open.
