Mask-optional Monday at CPS

Against the backdrop of warring parents, wary students, and an unfair labor practices complaint, CPS today is launching its mask-optional policy in schools across the district.

Why it matters: District officials dropped the mask mandate amid falling COVID cases, but also with widely varying vaccination rates from school to school.

Context: After adopting a safety agreement in January with the CTU, CPS dropped its masking provision without negotiating. CPS still hasn't released:

• A remote schooling plan for medically vulnerable students and those who can't be vaccinated.
• Results from a survey on mask preferences conducted with school administrators.
• Specific metrics that could trigger a return to masking either throughout the district or at a particular school.

What's next: An Illinois labor board could hear the CTU's unfair labor practices complaint this week.

• One University of Illinois labor professor told the Tribune he thinks the CTU has "a pretty good case."