With easing of COVID rules, Illinois schools mostly back to normal

View this email online

Education This Week is our weekly recap of the biggest news in education affecting the Chicago area, Illinois, the region and the nation. Today's edition was written by Nader Issa, the Sun-Times' education beat reporter. Follow him on Twitter here.

Good morning —

Illinois schools are basically back to business as usual when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks are optional, and there are no temperature checks or social distancing and extremely limited quarantines — and now Gov. J.B. Pritzker has lifted the testing requirement for unvaccinated educators.

Pritzker called the step the latest part of his plan "to carefully unwind the state's COVID-19 executive orders." Up until this week, teachers and staff in schools and day care centers who hadn't gotten a coronavirus shot were required to test twice weekly to stay on the job.

Teachers unions, which had been among the strongest proponents of strict pandemic protocols, did not put up a fight to Pritzker's new policy. Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery applauded the move, saying about 90% of his union members are fully vaccinated.

With all the precautions stripped away, what exactly does the latest COVID-19 data show?

At CPS, 589 students and 267 adults tested positive last week. That's among around 300,000 kids and 40,000 staff. There were fewer positive cases the past couple weeks after a surge in late August when schools reopened.

In the city, the virus outlook is much the same. Cases are relatively low — but testing at pharmacies has also dropped with more people using at-home rapid tests than earlier in the pandemic. Deaths remain near zero, and emergency rooms visits and hospitalizations are around the lowest in the pandemic.

There are still some logistical complaints at CPS. At some schools, parents have said they've been notified days later of a positive case who had contact with their kid, or some students who tested positive were told to stay home for remote classes but never given instructions on how to log on.

And after a massive effort to sign students up for in-school COVID-19 screening testing last year, that effort had to start over this year when those consent waivers expired. So only 25,416 kids are registered for testing this year, about 9.6% of the district.

In all, the district is in better shape than it has been the past two years. But it's imperative to remember more than half of CPS students are not fully vaccinated, and the virus hurts those with disabilities and underlying conditions more severely. So masking, not showing up to school when you're sick and getting vaccinated and boosted are still vitally important to protecting those around you who are more vulnerable.

We have more top stories from the past week, including a robot food delivery system at UIC and more cannabis courses offered in Illinois universities. Check those out below and keep an eye out on our Sun-Times Education home page for more to come.

Nader Issa, Sun-Times education reporter

Got a question you'd like me to look into? Respond to this email or send an email to audience@suntimes.com and your question may be answered in an upcoming newsletter!

Pritzker lifts final classroom COVID-19 mitigation, ending testing requirement for unvaccinated school workers

After lifting the statewide school mask mandate at the end of February and lifting vaccination requirements on college campuses earlier this summer, the Democratic governor called it the latest part of his plan "to carefully unwind the state's COVID-19 executive orders."

chicago.suntimes.com • Share

Cannabis courses offered by more Illinois colleges as sales of legal marijuana and hemp products grow

The University of Illinois and 11 community colleges statewide — more than ever — are offering courses to prepare students for jobs in the cannabis industry.

chicago.suntimes.com • Share

Northwestern professor takes on 'forever chemicals,' and he just might win

William Dichtel's research with colleague Brittany Trang found that heating a combination of a widely used solvent and lye can destroy many types of common cancer-causing PFAS found in Teflon pans and many other products.

chicago.suntimes.com • Share

Robot food delivery pilot program gets green light from City Council committee

If the full council endorses the plan, a year-old, pandemic-inspired test would expand to an area bounded by Halsted Street, Ogden Avenue, Roosevelt Road and the Eisenhower Expressway.

chicago.suntimes.com • Share

Thanks for reading Education This Week. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.