Unions call for remote learning at start of school year
(The Center Square) – The state's two largest education unions said all
options are on the table, including strikes, to make sure school districts have
appropriate protections in place.
The Illinois Education Association and Illinois Federation of
Teachers, which represent 238,000 school, college and
university employees in the state, also called for the school year to
begin with remote learning.
The unions said in-person instruction was possible, but more planning was
needed.
"We believe that some types of in-person instruction can be achieved
with health and safety mitigation in any individual community, but absent a
practical safety plan that includes a clear line of responsibility and
enforcement, we call for the 2020-21 school year to begin with remote
learning," Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin and
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said in a joint statement.
The union leaders said they would use every tool available to make sure all
school districts follow state and federal safety guidelines.
"No avenue or action is off the table – the courts, the Illinois
Educational Labor Relations Board – nothing, including health and safety
strikes," they said in the statement.
School districts across the state continue to tinker with plans for the fall
semester. Several suburban Chicago school districts that had initially planned
to provide in-person instruction has since switched to remote learning
plans.
Many districts in Illinois have opted for hybrid plans that blend remote
learning and in-person instruction.