CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago parents said they want more kids in schools now that health officials have reduced social distancing requirements in their latest recommendations for classrooms.
These parents belong to the Chicago Parent Collective, which has grown to include some 900 parents of students from about 80 Chicago Public Schools.
A few dozen parents and students rallied Sunday at Wrigley Square in Millennium Park, urging Chicago to follow the updated public health guidance on schools reopening. They held signs that read “Put Kids First” and “Follow Science Not Politics.”
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This past week the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance reducing safe social distances at schools to three feet.
Hearing that news, parents said they had hoped it would mean more students would be attending schools more regularly.
But they worry contract language between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union will prevent that or lead to lengthy negotiations, explained Ryan Griffin, a member of the parents collective.
“The language on there is interesting. It says it needs to be consistent with IDPH and CDC requirements. But then when you actually read the MOU ... it basically says it needs to be six feet. So it needs to be informed by the guidance but it’s still six feet,” Griffin told WBBM.