Chicago City Wire

Chicago Public Schools has announced that beginning on Monday, March 14, it will switch from a mask-required to a mask-optional policy, WGN reported. CPS officials cited decreased coronavirus cases in schools, alongside increased testing and vaccination rates, as factors in the decision.

“This means that while we will continue to encourage the use of masks, families and employees will now have a choice about whether or not to wear a mask at school, outside on school property, and on school buses,” Chicago Public Schools said in a statement.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot stressed that masks are optional.

“In accordance with the mask-optional guidance, employees, students, parents/guardians still have the choice to wear a mask or not,” Lightfoot said in a release. "We respect and support this choice.”

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) protested the switch, NBC 5 reported.

 “The decision by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her Chicago Public Schools team to unilaterally remove the mask mandate starting March 14 is a clear violation of our Jan. 12 Memorandum of Agreement," the union said in a statement. "Our union will immediately be filing an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the district in response, and requesting that CPS bargain over this decision — a decision that impacts nearly 400,000 students, educators, and school staffers in Chicago.

“Our city is fortunate that the numbers around the (coronavirus) pandemic have shifted, with deaths, hospitalizations, and positive cases low. But CPS buildings are congregating settings where vaccination rates also remain low, especially in schools with majority Black and Brown students on the South and West sides of the city.”