Overview
- At Thursday’s meeting, multiple board members and the Chicago Teachers Union pressed for virtual learning and urged district leaders to seek emergency action from Gov. JB Pritzker’s office.
- Interim CEO Macquline King said CPS lacks authority to move classes online, citing state rules that permit up to five districtwide emergency remote days under Illinois State Board of Education guidance issued Oct. 8.
- CPS expanded its 24-hour Student Safety Center, instituted ICE protocols and staff trainings, increased staffing at school entrances, and organized walking school buses and Safe Passage supports.
- Operation Midway Blitz enforcement has continued near schools, including a CPS student detained during a Little Village protest and a vendor detained outside Decatur Classical, with reports of tear gas in a prior incident.
- Citywide attendance is roughly level at about 92%, but some schools in predominantly Latino neighborhoods such as Pilsen and Little Village report declines up to 7% as students share real-time ICE locations and describe fear-driven lockdowns.