To serve our students with disabilities, culture shift needed at ODLSS

Just a week after our House of Delegates detailed the flagrant failings of the CPS Chief of Special Education, we learned today that new leadership is on the way at the Office of Diverse Learners Supports and Service (ODLSS). This is good news but a change at the top of ODLSS alone, without a change in the culture of the department and the policies of the district, will be another failure for our students

Locked out educators to teach from CPS board president’s lawn, joined by rank and file still teaching remotely

Lockout has disrupted education for thousands of Black and Brown students, as educators continue to document safety failures and COVID cases at their schools. 7A TODAY, Wednesday, 1/13: Press conference/teach-out, with locked out teachers, in front of CPS board of...

6:30A Monday: Educators join parents in rejecting in-person learning until buildings are safe, pandemic is under control

Black and Brown parents join CTU members in rejecting in-person learning, as CPS continues to reject accommodations for workers — including CTU member with brain tumor — and schools remain largest single source of COVID exposure in state. 6:30 a.m. Mon., Jan. 4 —...

CTU to go to trial on CPS’ refusal to bargain over reopening, as union pushes for trial date next week

CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2020—Today the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB), on a split 2-1 vote, denied the Union’s request to seek a preliminary injunction against CPS’ unilaterally developed plan to resume in-person learning on Jan. 4. The two-member...

5P Thurs.: Candlelight vigil will honor CTU members, school community members taken by COVID

Schools are largest source of COVID exposure in state, with numbers in suburban Cook close to 20% of cases, even as Lightfoot and CPS insist on reopening schools in less than three weeks. 5:00 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 17 — Candlelight vigil: Cather Elementary School, 2908 W....
CPS acquires air filters, yet clerks’ entire families continue to contract COVID-19

CPS acquires air filters, yet clerks’ entire families continue to contract COVID-19

Mayor and CPS finally relent to releasing ventilation data, but fail to test HVAC systems properly or allow independent verification as parents and educators call for more transparency and involvement in safety discussions. CHICAGO, Nov. 4, 2020—Despite announcing an...
School clerks’ unfair labor practice charge will go to trial

School clerks’ unfair labor practice charge will go to trial

A message to rank and file members from CTU Deputy General Counsel Thaddeus Goodchild: We’re planning for next steps on the unfair labor practice and grievance we’ve filed against CPS for forcing clerks and other workers into buildings without bargaining...
CTU member-wide survey results on reopening of Chicago’s public schools

CTU member-wide survey results on reopening of Chicago’s public schools

Caught between the gross ineptitude of Donald Trump’s U.S. Department of Education, and the uncertainty from Chicago Public Schools, more than 85 percent of CTU member respondents feel they should not or might not go back to work in the fall without a detailed plan and resources that will help guarantee the safe re-opening of our schools.