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Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced on Monday that students and teachers will no longer be required to wear masks in school.
The school system announced in a statement that it will switch to a mask-optional policy in all schools. The move will allow families to make their own choices regarding mask-wearing, according to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.
"CPS was one of the first to require universal masking in schools, and we would not be moving to a mask-optional model unless the data and our public health experts indicated that it is safe for our school communities," Martinez wrote in the statement.
"We will support our staff and students as we enter this new phase in the pandemic and continue to move forward together."
The statement also justified the repeal due to high vaccination rates among students and teachers. According to CPS, 56 percent of eligible students have received "at least one dose" of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 49 percent being fully vaccinated. Not only that, but about 91 percent of CPS employees are fully vaccinated, and Chicago as a city is no longer considered a high-risk area for COVID transmission.
But the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) said that it had plans to file an unfair labor practice complaint, claiming CPS violating the safety agreement it negotiated with the teachers.
"The decision by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her Chicago Public Schools team to unilaterally remove the mask mandate starting March 14, 2022, is a clear violation of our January, 12, 2022, Memorandum of Agreement," the CTU wrote.
There have been tensions between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union over the past few months. After voting to return to online learning in early January due to increasing infection levels, CPS canceled classes for nearly a week, with union teachers accusing the school system of locking them out of the district's remote learning platform. The union was eventually able to negotiate a return to the classroom.
"The district's move to make masks optional without bargaining to do so safely will have health and safety consequences, so we continue to call on CPS to drastically improve accommodations by providing greater access to the Virtual Academy," the union added.
Update at 3/7/22, 4:05 p.m. ET: This story was updated with background information.
