Chicago school system locks out some teachers, withholds pay for not returning to in-person

[TexasTowelie]

Chicago school system locks out some teachers, withholds pay for not returning to in-person instruction


CHICAGO — Chicago opened public school classrooms this week for the first time since the spring, but 18 percent of teachers and staffers required to return Monday did not do so, according to the school district, which is starting disciplinary procedures against some employees.

On Monday night, Chicago Public Schools notified 145 employees that they were considered absent without leave and that their pay would be docked beginning Tuesday. Some teachers who spent Monday teaching virtually instead of returning for in-person instruction were also locked out of their Google Classroom accounts in the evening, according to a district email that many teachers received.

“The vast majority of educators who are needed back in schools have returned to work and we are making sure the relatively small number of staff who have chosen not to support our returning students are held accountable,” district spokesman James Gherardi said in a statement.

Thad Goodchild, a lawyer for the Chicago Teachers Union, said the district is in violation of its contract — something city officials debate — and state law for withholding pay from educators who are working remotely and providing remote instruction during the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/chicago-schools-reopening-teachers/2021/01/12/3a2173d2-5508-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html