Overview
- Macquline King, in a Thursday statement, said May 1 remains an instructional day and urged the Board of Education to hold a special public vote if it wants to change the calendar.
- Sources from a closed board session Wednesday reported a nonbinding straw poll in favor of the Chicago Teachers Union’s plan to swap a June professional-development day for May 1.
- CPS has issued no official decision, leaving families and schools uncertain as they juggle field trips, college decision events, sports, and AP exam prep that leads into testing the week of May 4.
- The union argues its contract allows the swap, but King’s memo says the clause takes effect next school year and does not apply to this spring.
- Any closure would still need a public vote because CPS sets its calendar in open session, and state law only grants individual students one excused day for a civic event rather than a districtwide closure.