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Chicago schools reach tentative agreement to end strike

In this image, teachers on strike carry signs that read "Parents educators students together!"
Supporters of the teachers strike in Chicago, Oct. 23. Photo: Scott Heins/Getty Images

Chicago public school teachers, who have been on strike since Oct. 17, fighting for reduced class sizes, more resources and a 15% raise over the next three years, reached a tentative agreement with the city on Thursday, AP reports.

Where it stands: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot committed to making up five days of canceled classes that resulted from the 11-day strike, AP reports. About 300,000 students and their teachers are expected to return to classrooms on Friday.

Details: The tentative agreement in the nation’s third-largest school district includes an expansion of discrimination protections for Chicago teachers on the basis of ethnicity, gender, pregnancy status, religion, immigration status, and genetic information.

  • It also commits the Chicago board to create a pool of substitute teacher assistants to work in early childhood classrooms and bans the board from privatizing clinician jobs.

Read the tentative agreement:

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Teacher strike