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Why We’re Here Today

To equip you with the tools to feel empowered to take action against unsafe conditions in your school.
To prepare you with concrete demands and supporting resources for your next safety committee meeting.
To identify specific issues and plan actions to tackle them in breakout rooms.
To orient you on what you can do if you don’t have a safety committee yet.
To share specific next steps to take as leaders in your school.

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Overview: Where we are and where we need to go

We are in a surge. The Omicron variant is running rampant. Chicago has been setting daily records for number of cases.

Metric: The district has refused to set any threshold of COVID cases that would trigger remote learning citywide or even at an individual school experiencing an outbreak.

The mayor’s CPS team still refuses to agree to a closure metric, robust testing, adequate staffing, or a vax plan because they believe “schools don’t transmit COVID.”

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Overview: Where we are and where we need to go

We know there’s much concern about returning on January 3, so School Safety Committees are more important now than ever.
Robust safety committees with real roots in a school have the power to take action and enforce safety measures, but they must be built now so they’re ready when issues arise.
Every school must have a strong Safety Committee, and your PPC may have to step in to take on the role.
Use your Safety Committee to enforce school safety conditions, including a school-wide operational pause, and prepare for potential city-wide action.

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Purpose of the Safety Committee

We don’t have a comprehensive agreement this school year, but CPS has agreed to maintain school safety committees from the last agreement.
Safety committees can set the safety standards of what is acceptable in each building.

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What to do with no safety committee in place?

If your school does not have an active safety committee, the PPC needs to take up safety committee responsibility
If no PPC, work with organizer and field rep (find yours at ctulocal1.org/reps) to call for school union meeting to establish a committee and schedule first meeting with principal ASAP

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Sample Safety Committee Agenda

All schools should hold safety committee meetings the week of January 3.

Sample agenda: ctulocal1.org/agenda
Spreadsheet for concerns: ctulocal1.org/spreadsheet

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Other Common Safety Concerns

Quarantine time for students and staff
Contact tracing
Principal discretion to flip classrooms to remote
Cleanliness & deep cleaning
Travel guidance
Who is and who is not a close contact

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Important Safety Documents

Available at ctulocal1.org/safety (Review the side-bar on the right-hand side)
Here are some hard-to-find links to various guidance and policies from CPS, assembled together here so they’re easier to find when you need them (ctulocal1.org/links-to-cps-guidance/)

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Safety Committee Escalation

If the school administration refuses or is unable to address issues identified by the safety committee, then we can help your school escalate. Time is of the essence. Your school safety committee and principal should try to resolve issues within 24-48 hours.
If the issue is not resolved in a timely manner, fill out an incident report to the district-wide committee (form at ctulocal1.org/safety), which is supposed to resolve the issues “preferably” within 24 hours.
If the district-wide committee is unable to address your issue and your issue is a serious health and safety risk, we are encouraging you to enact the power of your committee and declare the school building unsafe by calling for a school-wide operational pause. Issue a letter signed by the committee to your LSC. Get signatures from all members. Share with parents. Our power is in our hands.

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Incident Report

Escalates incident to the district level

ctulocal1.org/report

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Red flags for the �first week back

Do you have a low opt in testing rate? Find out at ctulocal1.org/opted-in.
Are so many staff out sick at your school that it’s unsafe to open the building?
Are students coming in sick? Do you have issues with your care room protocols?

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DIY contact tracing and keeping each other informed!

Gather member phone numbers and emails
Designate a “floor captain” (safety committee, PPC, or CAT team member)
Encourage members on each floor to report any positive cases that they become aware of and notify if classrooms are flipping to remote or should be flipped
Document this information to bring to the principal at the Safety Committee

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Flyer Parents to Inform them about Signing Up for Covid Testing

Gather members that are interested in flyering
Pick a date and time to flyer (i.e. arrival, dismissal, reading night, etc.)
Make a plan (i.e. Julie will cover the K-2 entrance, Cath will cover the 3-5 entrance, Adriana will cover the 6-8th entrance)
Download and print flyers, or ask CTU for help: ctulocal1.org/test
Make sure you are off the clock, and flyer!
Have conversations with parents as you flyer (inform them of the situation at the school, find out their concerns, etc.)

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Help parents sign their child up for Covid-19 testing

Gather members that are interested in helping parents sign their child up for Covid testing.
Pick a date and time to help parents sign their kids up (i.e. arrival, dismissal, reading night, etc.).
If you have support from administration, do this inside your school.
If administration is not supportive, set up desks and laptops outside when you are off the clock, and/or ask your clerk for the paper version of the opt-in form.

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Set Up a Testing or Vaccination Event at Your School

Put it on your safety committee or PPC agenda that you would like to host a vaccine event at your school.
Work with your principal to identify a community partner or health care provider.
If there is pushback, contact your Organizer or Field Rep to help make this happen: www.ctulocal1.org/reps

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Demand School Wide Operational Pause

Address and document all safety concerns in your safety committee.
If issues of serious concern are raised and not handled within 24-48 hours (e.g., significant number of staff and students test positive), escalate the issue to the district level safety committee and notify your Field Rep and Organizer.
Work with CTU staff to share concerns with parents and the public (e.g., LSC meeting, PAC meeting, press conference).
Draft a letter demanding a school operational pause.

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Questions to Consider for School Wide Operational Pause

How widespread are the problems in your school? Are all areas, grade levels, departments affected?
Are parents informed and also raising concerns about safety in the school?
Do your members have fear about returning to the building because of unsafe conditions?
Are large numbers of staff quarantining at home, to the point that the school is struggling to operate?
Are large numbers of students testing positive through surveillance testing?
Are there serious cleanliness concerns in the building?

Contact your field representative and organizer ASAP �if you are considering a school operational pause.

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Concrete organizing steps

Use your safety committee to document, report and advocate
Increase communication amongst members
Make efforts to increase opt-in testing
Host a vaccination event at your school
Call for a school operational pause

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Urgent next steps

Union meeting ASAP to gauge your members willingness to take school + city-wide action
Members to fill out CTU survey
Attend Sunday Teletown Hall @ 6pm
School Safety Committee meeting January 3

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Breakout rooms

Troubleshoot specific issues, questions, concerns

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Resources

Safety Committee Info: ctulocal1.org/safety
CTU Staff contact: ctulocal1.org/reps
Testing Opt-In Flyer (for parents): ctulocal1.org/test
Sample SC Agenda: ctulocal1.org/agenda