IFT, IEA Issue Joint Statement on Start of School Year and Back to School Plans

The Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association Wednesday issued a joint statement regarding the start of the school year and enforcement of back-to-school plans, including health and safety strikes.

The statement reads, in part: "We believe that some types of in-person instruction can be achieved with health and safety mitigation in any individual community, but absent a practical safety plan that includes a clear line of responsibility and enforcement, we call for the 2020-2021 school year to begin with remote learning."

The statement continues: "We are working to ensure that any district providing in-person instruction in Illinois is prepared and able to abide by the safety measures outlined by the state, the federal government, and medical professionals. If those measures are not met, we will do everything we can to protect our students and those who care for them – teachers and professors, bus drivers, classroom aides, secretaries, building janitors and everyone in between. No avenue or action is off the table – the courts, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board - nothing, including health and safety strikes. The entire weight of the IEA and the IFT will be used in whatever way is necessary to protect the students and the staff who educate them.