Chicago teachers mull return to class, Philly turns to mediator

Chicago's teachers union was reviewing a compromise COVID-19 safety proposal on Monday that could allow in-person classes to resume this week, as Philadelphia agreed to let a mediator decide when school buildings could safely reopen. Chicago Teachers Union leaders were expected to decide on Monday night whether to ask 28,000 rank and file members to vote on the tentative agreement with the school district, which would allow some 67,000 students to gradually return to classrooms over the next month.

The plan reached during weekend negotiations could avert a threatened lockout by the third-largest U.S. school district or a strike by teachers, who have demanded stronger anti-virus protocols in classrooms. Pressure to reopen or expand in-person learning for students has been building across the United States in recent weeks as the impact of remote learning on education and family life becomes more apparent. The debate over how and when to safely reopen has become heated in many school districts.

"We'll get there," American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten wrote on Twitter. "But we need the resources, the plan and roadmap, and the basic safety precautions we've been asking for since April." The push coincides with a sharp decline in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations since early January. Some 81,000 patients were hospitalized on Sunday, the lowest daily total since Nov. 20, according to a Reuters tally.

In Philadelphia, the school district backed down on an order for some 2,000 teachers to return to the classroom on Monday to prepare for students coming back later this month. Instead of disciplining teachers who failed to show up, the district said it would allow an arbitrator to decide when classrooms could safely reopen. VACCINATIONS URGED FOR TEACHERS

Philadelphia teachers say the school district needs to improve ventilation systems and classroom safety and make teacher vaccinations a priority. Mayor Jim Kenney on Monday announced a plan to inoculate educators, starting at the end of February. In Los Angeles, where political leaders have sparred with school district officials and the teachers' union over the need to reopen classrooms quickly, Superintendent Austin Beutner on Monday said vaccinations were a precondition.

"Make schools a priority and reduce the level of COVID-19 in LA to meet the state requirements," Beutner said in a tweet in the form of a "to-do list" to get schools reopened within 60 days. "Provide vaccinations to 25,000 school teachers, principals, bus drivers, custodians and librarians," he added.

Los Angeles City councilman Joe Buscaino last week suggested that the city take legal action to force classrooms to reopen over the objection of the United Teachers Los Angeles union. Buscaino said on Monday the district could reopen classrooms at 25% capacity for students who were struggling at home.

"There are tens of thousands of vulnerable families in desperate need of help. This is not an all or nothing situation. We have to do what we can for those students," he said. The councilman said some desperate Los Angeles parents had already begun enrolling their children in neighboring districts or private schools.

President Joe Biden on Sunday described school closures and their negative impact on families as a national emergency. Leading health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control, have said there is little evidence that the virus is spread in classrooms. In Michigan, more than 350 doctors and psychologists urged the resumption of in-person classes in Ann Arbor by March 1.

In New York City, in-person classes in the nation's largest public school system will resume for middle-school students on Feb. 25. About half of the city's 471 middle schools will offer five-day-a-week classroom learning with the remainder working toward that goal, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press briefing.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)