The Chicago teachers union seems to think that spending is the answer to failing students. Chicago’s school district has increased its funding for students by 97% since 2012, but student performance continues to decline. Now, with the Chicago Teachers Union’s contract with the Chicago Public Schools expiring, union members intend to implement policies irrelevant to student success.
Chicago students’ math competency decreased by 78% and reading by 63% from 2012 to 2023. Union members have lost sight of their education mission as they propose scheduling additional days off from school and allocating substantial funds to increasing green energy efforts. The Chicago Teachers Union’s contract proposal focuses substantially on clean energy policies, including the development of an electric bus fleet, the installation of solar panels in educational facilities, and the reallocation of funding currently applied to measures “contributing to climate change.”. Furthermore, the union’s contract would allow schools to withhold information from parents concerning their children’s expressed gender identity and would establish housing for “unaccompanied youth” in school buildings.
The Chicago Teachers Union claims to be an “organization of educators dedicated to advancing and promoting quality public education.” It is not a clean energy or housing advocacy group. While the economy has influenced the availability of affordable housing, the union’s contract should prioritize issues relevant to public school academics. Likewise, their absurd gender identity provisions usurp parental rights and irresponsibly allocate funding to secondary issues at the cost of children’s education. Chicago’s proposal reveals that the union seeks to celebrate and champion a radical gender ideology agenda by designating “gender support coordinators” and offering, “support and protection to members teaching LGBTQ+/intersectionality topics.” Furthermore, the union intends to “create a network position for an LGBTQ+ lead in each network…” who will “be responsible for enforcing gender support plans.” While students are failing academically, the union is dedicating time and resources to their social justice agenda.
According to the Illinois Policy Institute, the Chicago contract proposal also addresses asylum seekers and charter schools. In order to support asylum seekers, it “…includes a provision giving $2,000 payments for each newcomer student.” Encouraging academic opportunities for migrants, the proposal limits school choice for citizens by restricting enrollment numbers. School choice is vitally important to parents and children, allowing families to determine the best method and structure of education for their children. If teachers unions were true advocates of affordable, excellent education, they would not concentrate efforts on restricting charter schools nor designate an additional $10.2 billion to prioritize the environment and social justice over education. Chicago parents should rightly question how electric buses, carbon neutrality, and charter school limits will improve teachers’ employment conditions and the education of their pupils.
If encouraging secrecy and paying asylum seekers concerns Chicago parents, locals should also be aware of the teachers union’s desire to remove police from schools. Though violent crime rose by 11% from 2022 to 2023, the teachers union somehow believes fewer police officers in schools will benefit students. The Illinois Policy Institute compared New York City’s and Los Angeles’ contracts with Chicago’s, finding that Chicago’s progressive policies far surpass social justice initiatives by both cities. However, the Chicago Teachers Union will likely chart the course for many other union contracts.
At such a formative time, K-12 children need truth—not the confusing, political messaging that the Chicago Teachers Union hopes to enshrine in schools. Teachers unions should not overstep the rights of parents by feeding students lies regarding gender identity and prohibiting transparency with parents. The outrageous demands of the Chicago Teachers Union expose the ideology gripping unions across the nation. Due to the decline in public school education quality and the progressive priorities of these unions, states must protect parents’ rights to school choice. If the Chicago Teachers Union truly cared about the educational performance of students and the well-being of teachers, it might think twice about spending $500 million on electric buses, giving away funds to migrants, and focusing on gender identity over academic development.