Chicago union leaders OK plan to resume in-person class

Chicago schools are poised to resume classes after leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union approved a plan with the district over COVID-19 safety protocols. The full deal, which would have students in class Wednesday and teachers a day earlier, still requires approval by the unions full 25,000 members.Neither side immediately disclosed details Monday evening.

Chicago schools are poised to resume classes after leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union approved a plan with the district over COVID-19 safety protocols. Both sides had been locked in a standoff that cancelled classes for four days in the nation's third-largest district. The full deal, which would have students in class Wednesday and teachers a day earlier, still requires approval by the union's full 25,000 members.

Neither side immediately disclosed details Monday evening. Issues on the table have been metrics to close schools amid outbreaks and expanded COVID-19 testing. The Chicago Teachers Union voted last week to revert to online instruction and told teachers not to show up in person at schools as negotiations continued. District officials argued that schools are safe, a return to remote-only learning isn't a good option, and blocked teachers from accessing online teaching systems. Meanwhile, families scrambled to adjust just two days after students returned to classrooms after winter break.