Return to Work Proposal CPS-CTU January 10, 2022 (passed by 63%)
sources report this proposal passed by 63%
Recognizing the increase in COVID-19 cases as a result of the Omicron variant, the parties agree to the following measures that will be in place until August 26, 2022.
1. Resumption of In-person Instruction: All bargaining unit members shall return to in-person work on January 11, 2022, and CPS students shall resume in-person instruction on January 12, 2022.
2. Masking: CPS will provide KN95 masks for staff and students use in addition to the medical grade masks and other face-covering PPE (e.g. face shields) it provides for staff and students as agreed to in the February 2021 MOA through the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year.
3. Health Screeners: Building-level safety committees may decide by majority vote, including the principal, whether to reinstate the health screener in place during the 2020-2021 school year at their school. Reinstatement of the policies must include a local implementation plan, including the use of school-based staff to implement the policies.
4. School-by-School Remote Learning: Members of the CPS Tactical Team will meet with CTU leadership daily, if requested by CTU, prior to the daily Tactical Team meeting to allow CTU to present to the CPS Tactical Team specific school concerns.
1. CPS will continue to utilize its Flip-to-remote protocol for temporary remote learning in classes with a report of a positive case.
2. Decisions to pause in-person learning and transition to remote learning on a school-by-school basis: A school will be eligible to transition to remote learning if either one of the following two conditions are met:
(1) Teacher Absences
Classroom Teacher absences due to COVID-19:
30% or more of a school’s classroom teacher are absent for two consecutive days because of the employees’ documented positive COVID-19 cases, as confirmed by the OSHW contact tracing team, or the employees’ OSHW-directed quarantine/isolation and where the school-wide teacher absence rate due to documented positive COVID-19 cases or OSHW- directed quarantine/isolation remains at or above 25% with the use of substitutes or internal staff.
(2) Student Absences
Closing Metric:
All Schools:
a) During a COVID surge (defined as “high” community transmission/level 4 by CDC), more than 40% of the school’s student population has been instructed to isolate/quarantine by OSHW or CDPH.
b) During other periods (defined as “low, moderate, or substantial” community transmissions/ level 1-3 by CDC), more than 50% of the school’s student population has been instructed to isolate/quarantine by OSHW or CDPH.
c. Flip to Remote Protocols:
(1) Safety Committee Decision: On the day a school is deemed eligible to transition to remote learning, an emergency meeting will be convened by the Building Level Safety Committee (as established under the February 6 and April 15, 2021 MOAs) to review the specific school situation and prepare to mobilize the entire school to support a flip to remote.
(a) The Safety Committee will review the staffing situation or student absences to determine whether to flip the full school to remote.
(b) The Safety Committee must confirm a decision to flip the whole school to remote learning by a majority vote and after the vote, the principal will notify their Network Chief and the CPS Tactical Team, and the CTU delegate will notify the Union of the decision.
(c) If the Safety Committee votes to keep the school in-person, the principal will notify the Network Chief and the CPS Tactical Team, and the CTU delegate will notify the Union of the decision. The school will be flagged for the CPS Tactical Team to monitor with CDPH and provide additional support to the school for in-person learning.
d. Plan for Flip to Remote: If the Safety Committee votes to flip the full school to remote, the Safety Committee will develop a plan for all staff members to support student device distribution, meal distribution, communication with families, and logistics for return to in-person learning at the end of the remote learning period.
(1) Timing of Flip to Remote: Consistent with the CPS flip-to-remote protocol, Remote Learning will start 24 hours after the Safety Committee meets and votes to flip to remote. Students will not receive synchronous learning, and teachers will prepare for remote learning during the day immediately following the Safety Committee meeting.
(2) Teacher Attendance: If a school transitions to full remote learning, all staff (who are not asked to isolate or quarantine) will be required to report to work in-person, including on all preparation days.
e. Return to In-Person Learning:
(1) The school will resume in-person instruction after five school days unless otherwise recommended by CDPH.
(2) On the last day of remote learning, the Safety Committee will reconvene to review the plan to return to in-person learning and all staff members will participate in preparation for and notification to families of the return.
f. For the purposes of compliance with this Section, CPS shall provide access to daily automated reports on relevant covid-related student and staff attendance as well as regular reports on student and staff isolation/quarantine to the Union and members of the Building-level Safety Committee.
5. Testing: CPS’ testing program already provides free testing to CPS students and staff at every school every week. CPS’ testing program includes the following components:
a. CPS will continue to offer free testing at every school every week to students and staff at least at the same level as it was offered in December 2021. For schools that were testing at a level below 10% of students in December 2021, CPS will make available sufficient testing resources to test at least 10% of students each week at each school; these students will be randomly selected from all students who have consented to participate in testing at the school; provided that for any school where less than 10% of students have consented to testing, all such students shall be tested weekly. CPS will assign school-based staff, including nurses assigned to schools, school assistants, and other ESPs, to increase testing capacity.
b. Screening testing will be offered to all staff during the week of January 10, 2022.
c. CPS and CTU will jointly work with the District Safety Committee to increase student participation in screening testing and student vaccination with the goal of achieving 100% participation by February 1. CPS shall establish phone banks for this purpose. Bargaining unit staff may volunteer to serve on phone banks to obtain informed consent from parents and guardians for student testing and to facilitate vaccination efforts. Volunteers will receive the non-instructional rate of pay for time spent phone banking outside of their regular work day. Other efforts will include promotion of the test-to-stay pilot, and incentives for families that sign up for testing. CPS will provide a $1,000 stipend for a staff member to serve as the school’s Student Testing and Vaccination Participation Captain, to conduct outreach to families, parent groups, and LSCs at each school. The school will include students, parents, community organizations and other stakeholders to participate in outreach efforts.
d. In addition, the Tactical Team will direct supplemental testing for asymptomatic students and staff when schools are experiencing a significant increase in self-reported COVID-19 cases.
e. In addition, with parental consent, CPS will provide testing for students who report to the school care room with COVID-19 symptoms.
f. In the event a school transitions to remote learning, CPS will offer screening testing at the school for asymptomatic staff and students on a set schedule within the first five calendar days after the school has transitioned to remote.
g. CPS will procure at least 350,000 additional tests for use during the remainder of the school year to implement the testing set forth above in subsections a, b, d, e and f.
6. Substitutes: CPS shall utilize the following incentives to encourage substitutes to accept assignments:
Sub Type Incentive
Substitute Teachers (Day to Day and Provisional) Through the end of the third academic quarter, any substitute teacher who works 15 or more days in a month, including 6 out of 8 (75%) of Mondays and Fridays in the month, will receive an additional monetary stipend of $1,000 instead of the normal $420 monthly stipend. The $420 stipend is still available for substitutes who work 12 or more days in a month but are unable to work at least 75% of Mondays and Fridays.
Substitute Teachers (Day to Day and Provisional) Work 12 days or more in a month and receive a $420 stipend
Substitute teachers (Cadres, Day to Day and provisional) Work in high need schools to receive an extra $45 a day
All substitute employees (sub clerks, TA’s, SECA’s, Cadres, Day to Day and Provisional) All substitutes who work during January 2022 will receive a daily stipend in the amount of $30 in addition to any other eligible stipend.
The Substitute Teacher Professional Problems Committee shall assist substitutes who are CPS retirees to ensure that these substitutes do not exceed compensation limits under CTPF.
7. Accommodations. CPS will allow staff members to take an unpaid leave of absence upon request who:
a. due to the employee’s own medical condition, are at increased risk for severe illness due to Covid-19 (per the CDC guidelines), and
b. who are unable to receive a Covid-19 vaccination and booster
The leave shall last through the third academic quarter of SY 2021-22. Employees on such leaves shall return to paid status upon reporting for work in-person. Employees who wish to request an unpaid leave of absence under this provision must apply by January 27, 2022.
8. Contact Tracing. Each school will have school staff serve as contact tracers for student cases from that school, provided that sufficient school staff volunteer. The school level contact tracing will be managed through the OSHW contact tracing team. As part of their contact tracing work, the school staff member will provide updates of non-confidential information at Building level Safety Committee meetings for the Committee’s consideration. School-based staff members who volunteer to participate in this program will perform contact tracing duties for student covid cases outside of their regular work hours and will receive the non-instructional rate of pay for each additional hour of work associated with this contact tracing. School-based staff members will volunteer to serve in this extra-duty role and must participate in the program for the full semester in which they sign up. All school staff members who assist with these contact tracing efforts must complete paid regular mandatory contact tracing training and sign a confidentiality agreement as part of this extra duty role. Contact tracing training shall commence no later than January 18, 2022.
9. Complete Agreement: CPS and CTU shall continue to observe the following provisions:
(a) From the February 6, 2021 MOA, except as modified by this agreement:
i. Health and Safety Protocols in CPS Facilities (Health Screening, Hand Sanitizer, Disinfecting Wipes, Sneeze Guards, Face Coverings and PPE, Cleaning and Disinfecting, Social Distancing, Work Space)
Committees
ii. Ventilation
iii. COVID-19 Testing
iv. Contact Tracing
v. COVID-19 District and Building Health and Safety
vi. Vaccinations
(b) Quarantines- CPS will follow CDC/IDPH/CDPH guidance regarding quarantine, which currently recommends quarantine of students and staff who are close contacts of documented positive COVID-19 cases unless they are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic.
Make-up Days
The CEO will conduct an assessment, in consultation with relevant stakeholders including parents and principals, to determine whether to recommend that the Board of Education add instructional days to the school year based on students’ academic needs.
