EXPLAINER: Why are Chicago schools, teachers union fighting?

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters stage a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop, Wednesday evening, Jan. 5, 2022. Chicago school leaders canceled classes in the nation's third-largest school district for the second straight day after failing to reach an agreement with the teachers union over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety protocols. (Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters stage a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop, Wednesday evening, Jan. 5, 2022. Chicago school leaders canceled classes in the nation's third-largest school district for the second straight day after failing to reach an agreement with the teachers union over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety protocols. (Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

By SOPHIA TAREEN / Associated Press January 12, 2022 4 min read

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago scrapped classes for five days days in a confusing standoff that ended late Monday with the teachers’ union over COVID-19 safety measures in the nation’s third-largest school district.

From remote instruction to testing, both sides have been negotiating nearly a dozen complex points of a safety plan that loomed over students’ return from winter break. The fight came as other districts have had to increasingly shift online amid soaring COVID-19 cases.

Leaders on both sides described the tentative agreement, which requires a full union vote, in general terms, but did not offer specific details.

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