Ian Patrick, FISM News

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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made an announcement on Wednesday that all schools in the Chicago school district are to utilize remote, online instruction only. Not even hybrid instruction, which includes a few days in school and others remotely, will be allowed even though it was considered earlier for the district.

According to NBC Channel 5 Chicago, the Chicago Teachers Union advocated for online-only instruction when the city first announced its hybrid plan. However, Mayor Lightfoot noted that the decision was made in reaction to the upward climb of Covid-19 cases in her city.

Although Chicago is moving forward with this plan, the rest of Illinois’ teaching procedures will vary by district. In fact, according to Education Week, most states are following a plan to vary school instruction procedures by district or start on a date later than usual. Only Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Florida, and South Carolina have at least part-time in-person instruction because of state orders. On the opposite end, only California has a mandatory regional closure initiative issued by Gov. Newsome. This closure requires schools to be online unless they are off of a COVID “watchlist” for 14 consecutive days. Any California district that meets these requirements can make any instruction changes as they see fit.

Sourced from NBC 5 Chicago and Education Week