Students Return to School as D.C. Files Restraining Order Against Teachers' Union

After nearly a year of remote learning, DC Public Schools is welcoming students back to campus on Tuesday. About 9,000 students and 1,800 teachers are expected to return to school buildings. It was a gut-wrenching decision for many families who weighed whether to send children back.

Reopening schools has been a source of great stress and conflict from the start, when unions representing teachers, principals, and nurses first accused the mayor’s team of excluding them from decision-making around safety measures. Strife between school officials and teachers continued into the start of in-person instruction on Tuesday.

While DC Public Schools eventually reached an agreement with the Washington Teachers’ Union over reopening schools in December, the teachers’ union has accused school leaders of breaching it. An independent arbitrator ultimately cleared DC Public Schools to reopen schools this week, in response to a formal complaint issued by the union.

Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee applauded the ruling, saying “schools are safe, and we know the best place for students to learn is in the classroom.” He also pointed to a new report from epidemiologists affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says rapid spread isn’t as high in schools as it is in congregate living facilities or high-density worksites.

Read more: https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/507550/students-return-to-school-as-d-c-files-restraining-order-against-teachers-union/