Chicago Public Schools has yet to announce its masking, social distancing and COVID-19 testing protocols, with just over five weeks until students are set to return to classrooms for full-time instruction five days a week.

       “The district is in the process of evaluating federal, state and municipal health guidelines, which provide significant flexibility. No final decisions have been made regarding masking or testing policies but CPS continues to work closely with (the Chicago Department of Public Health) and will update families when we have additional information to share,” a CPS spokesperson said in a statement this week.

       High school students wearing face masks line up for health screening questions April 19, 2021, before entering Kenwood Academy High School as it reopens for in-person learning. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

       School districts across the suburbs have been releasing their 2021-22 plans, with some electing to let parents choose if their child will wear a mask. The Chicago Archdiocese this week announced a return to “near-normal, pre-pandemic” operations this fall, with masks not required for fully vaccinated students, teachers and staff members.

       The decisions come amid conflicting recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

       The AAP said this week everyone older than 2 should wear a mask in schools, regardless of their vaccination status. The CDC, meanwhile, said this month that fully vaccinated students, teachers and staff don’t need face coverings inside classrooms. The Illinois Department of Public Health “fully adopted” the school guidance issued by the CDC, which encourages districts to craft their own strategies to allow for the return of in-person learning.

       City Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday she is “pleased” with the CDC advice.

       “First and foremost, they said we want to show from a data-driven perspective children should be in school in person, and I think you know this is something that the Chicago Department of Public Health has been really encouraging in a data-driven way, for months and months and months and months,” Arwady told reporters in a question-and-answer session at a mayoral news conference about the importance of vaccination as the highly contagious delta variant sparks an uptick in local coronavirus cases.

       Arwady pointed out that CPS students who want to be fully vaccinated before school starts Aug. 30 should get their first shot by this coming Monday. The Pfizer vaccine is available to people 12 years and older. The Monday deadline allows for time between the two Pfizer shots and the two-week post-vaccination period, Arwady said.

       About 46% of Chicago kids 12 to 17 have received their first vaccine dose as of Monday, with 35% of that age group fully vaccinated, according to city data.

       “There are real operational questions around what it would look like in a setting to make that decision, so we continue to talk with CPS, and they’ll be making an announcement, as will other schools,” Arwady said about COVID-19 policies. “But we are encouraging really making sure that we’re doing everything we can, first and foremost, to have parents and guardians feel comfortable about having their children back in school in person to make up some of that learning loss and work on the social and emotional piece that is so critical.”

       The Chicago Teachers Union said there are many unanswered questions about safety procedures as it continues to negotiate with CPS before the fall reopening.

       Earlier this month, the union delivered a former proposal that calls for vaccinating 80% of eligible students by October, improving ventilation in schools and hiring union members who are at increased risk for severe illness for the district’s new remote learning program. Friday is the final day for “medically vulnerable” students to apply to the CPS Virtual Academy for the coming school year.

       After a bargaining session Tuesday, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates told the Tribune there isn’t clarity on how the Virtual Academy will be used beyond the pandemic.

       She also expressed concern about in-person staffing levels and the district shaping COVID-19 policies without more input from school communities of color. Davis Gates said Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team have rejected some 95% of the union’s proposals.

       “The headline that I have for negotiations right now is that the mayor and CPS believed in layered mitigation but refuse to implement it,” Davis Gates said.

       tswartz@tribpub.com

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