- Chicago's public schools canceled classes for the second day in a row.
- The teachers' union and school district are in a deadlock over COVID-19 safety rules.
- While teachers voted to return to remote learning, school administrators want to resume in-person classes.
Around 340,000 students in Chicago — the country's third-largest school system — are set to miss a second day of classes on Thursday as public school administrators and teachers continue to clash over COVID-19 safety rules, the Chicago Public Schools CEO said.
"Right now, as I'm looking at what is happening with our staff, where they are being discouraged from coming to our buildings, we have no choice but to cancel classes tomorrow," Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said at a Wednesday news conference.
The Chicago Teachers' Union on Tuesday voted to return to remote learning, saying that in-person classes are unsafe for both students and faculty amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Martinez pushed for classes to continue in-person after the two-week holiday break, saying it provides better educational benefits and relieves stress for parents who would have to take care of their kids during the daytime.
The resulting deadlock has left families wondering when their children can resume schooling, and Lightfoot criticized the stalemate on Wednesday as a "unlawful, unilateral strike," according to The Chicago Tribune.
"If you care about our students, if you care about our families, as we do, we will not relent," she said. "Enough is enough. We are standing firm and we are going to fight to get our kids back to in-person learning. Period. Full stop. We owe that to our children who suffered learning loss."
Additionally, Bloomberg CEO Mike Bloomberg published an op-ed Wednesday calling the classroom walkouts "a profoundly troubling abdication of duty that should be met with public outrage."
Bloomberg advocated for in-person classes, and called remote learning "a colossal failure for America's most vulnerable students."