Thousands of Chicago Public Schools teachers are set to report for duty Monday, and CPS has denied requests for leave or other accommodations for the majority of those who applied for it.
Almost one-third of employees set to return to classrooms asked to continue working from home or for a leave of absence. The majority were denied.
“It’s disappointing, if unsurprising, that CPS refuses to meet us in the middle — with real safety for our workers and safety for our larger school communities,” Chicago Teachers Union Spokesperson Chris Geovanis said.
CPS says it granted accommodation to teachers who have an underlying health condition. Officials with the school system added that “where possible, accommodations were also granted to staff who live with someone with a high-risk medical condition, or who face child care challenges.”
Employees for pre-K and special education will report Monday. Those in-person classes resume Jan. 11.
“We have a member whose husband has cancer, and her request for accommodation was denied,” the CTU's Geovanis said. “She doesn’t want to infect her husband — bring home Covid to the family and potentially to him, and yet her request for accommodation was denied.”
CPS says it is “making weekly Covid testing available for employees who live with medically vulnerable people.”