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The Chicago Teachers Union asked the school board to allow students to miss school on May 1, when the CTU and other local labor groups are joining a national pro-labor protest that will decry the Trump administration’s policies.
The national day of “no school, no work, no shopping” will advocate for raising taxes on the rich, reining in immigration enforcement, and steering more funding toward schools, the union said. The union said students as well as educators should be able to participate in the action. CTU leaders point to a state law that allows middle and high school students an excused absence each year to participate in a civic event.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former CTU employee and close ally, has voiced support for letting students miss school that day, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
At the school board’s monthly meeting Thursday, Jackson Potter, the CTU’s vice president, appealed to the board to back the union’s request. He noted that the union’s contract allows for swapping one existing professional day for teachers for another day of no attendance.
School board members, where allies of Johnson hold a majority, did not address the union’s request. They could take it up at either of two meetings in April. A May 1 day off for middle and high school students would come after the weeklong spring break in March and three days of non-attendance for all students in March and April, including a parent-teacher conference day this week.
Potter said more than 500 district students participated in the May 1 march last year.
Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.
