As many districts around the state have had to take an adaptive pause after or for the first week back at school post-winter break, we are seeing lots of confusion from parents about whether ISBE needs to approve this or not, and whether districts can make this decision on their own. Some parents have told us their district has said it’s up to ISBE, which is not accurate. And Chicago Public Schools continues to tell parents the district is not currently authorized by law to do districtwide remote learning.

A lot happened over the weekend that impacts school reopening plans for K-8th grade in Chicago Public Schools. Teachers were supposed to be back in the building today but the district delayed this until Wednesday for K-8th grade as the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS negotiate over a list of demands regarding safety measures. CPS says that the start date for K-8 in person learning will still be 2/1, but the CTU took a vote to support a resolution to reject in person learning at this time with 71% supporting the resolution.

These recommendations are intended as a resource to assist students and families, teachers, administrators, school board members and others, whether they are writing, revising or advocating for improvement of policies covering the role of tech in students’ remote learning experiences.