CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago's public schools superintendent and the Chicago Teachers Union have found a compromise over whether students and staff members will be able to take part in May Day-related demonstrations.
Friday's announcement from CTU leadership spells out that classes will be in session on Friday, May 1, but students and staff who want to attend the city's May Day rally in Union Park could have their absences excused. A subsequent statement from CPS calls May 1 a "full instruction day," but says individual schools may take part in "civic events" at their discretion, and student and staff participation is voluntary.
The announcement appears to end a standoff between union leaders who demanded classes be canceled to allow for a "day of civic action" and schools CEO Dr. Macquline King, who resisted pressure from the union and the Board of Education and insisted as recently as last week that school should be in session.
Mayor and former CTU organizer Brandon Johnson told reporters this week that "May First is gonna happen" but would not say whether that meant classes would be canceled. Governor and organized labor ally J.B. Pritzker told reporters Thursday that kids should get every day of education that they deserve, but "political operatives trying to determine what the calendar should be for kids seems inappropriate."
Both the union and CPS have also agreed that in future years when May 1 falls on a weekday, it'll be classified as a 'teacher development day.'
Classes will be in session; schools can opt into 'civic events'
Classes will be in session; schools can opt into 'civic events'
