Chicago Teachers Union spreads attacks on charter schools across Illinois
The tentative agreement between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools will further damage charter schools in Chicago. CTU also has been working in the Statehouse to hinder charter schools and place more restrictions on them statewide.
The Chicago Teachers Union is continuing its assault on the educational freedoms of Chicago parents, especially low-income parents, by undermining charter schools in its tentative bargaining agreement with Chicago Public Schools.
But CTU’s attacks aren’t limited to Chicago: The union supported a bill in the Illinois General Assembly this session aimed at hindering charter schools’ growth and undermining charter operations across Illinois.
CTU has a history of denying access to charter schools for Chicago families and trying to limit their competition statewide. Here are the details of CTU’s latest moves.
CTU’s tentative agreement with CPS again attacks city charter schools
The CTU contract which expired in 2024 already placed a moratorium on adding charter schools and capped student enrollment, essentially forbidding any additional students to enroll. CTU’s tentative agreement for the new contract continues limiting enrollment at charter schools and denying access to Chicago students and families who want to take advantage of a different public-school option than traditional public schools.
The tentative agreement includes similar language to the previous two contracts to ensure no increase to the number of charter schools or current enrollment levels in Chicago’s charter schools.
But this agreement, if ratified, goes even farther than past contracts and requires union neutrality for charter operator contract renewals with CPS. This means charter school operators in CPS will be required to in effect support a union’s attempt to organize its staff, making it easier for CTU to unionize all charter schools in the district. About one-third of Chicago charter schools are currently unionized.
One of the big advantages of charter schools is their ability to operate without the strictures of teachers union contracts. Innovation and efficiency thanks to freedom from some union, district and state rules help charters focus on student achievement.
The tentative agreement also demands the district adopt reabsorption guidelines for charter schools that close. This is similar to what is included in the bill CTU pushed at the state level in the current General Assembly and its strategy for undermining Acero charter schools and reabsorbing them into CPS. The union is obviously preparing for the ultimate shut-down of charter schools in Chicago through a strategy of unionize, restrict, close and reabsorb – maintaining a monopoly over public education and delivering a standardized mediocrity.
CTU supports bill to weaken charter schools across the state
CTU leadership registered their official support for House Bill 1387, a bill paving the way for the eventual shutdown of charter schools in Illinois. While the bill did not progress to the House floor, a companion version of the bill in the Illinois Senate remains active.
Both the House bill and its companion, Senate Bill 144, seek to amend the Illinois School Code to create more regulations around who can be authorized to operate a charter school. They also restrict how charter schools spend their budgets and what a transition plan looks like for closing or consolidating charter schools.
Current statute does not allow an existing private, parochial or non-public school to be converted into a charter school. But organizations which operate those schools would be eligible to start a new charter school.
The bills would forbid any organizations which operate a private, parochial or non-public school or child care facility from being granted a charter to open a new charter school.
The bills also seek to control how charter schools spend money. The school code currently allows charter schools to manage and operate their own finances, including preparing their budgets. But these bills create regulations around charter schools’ budgets, requiring charter schools to spend no less than 90% of their budget on direct-service costs for students.
The bills also lay the groundwork for the eventual elimination of charter schools by creating a process for closing or consolidating charter schools. This includes requiring local school districts to collaborate with charter schools facing closure to ensure every charter student gets a seat at the public school and all teachers at a closing charter school are guaranteed a job at the public school – creating more potential teachers union members.
Illinois state law already hinders charter school growth and innovation
Illinois’ charter school provisions already impose a limit on the number of charter schools allowed to operate in the state.
The law currently caps the number of charter schools at 120, with no more than 70 allowed to operate in Chicago. Many charter schools operate multiple campuses under the same charter agreement.
Despite current limits, that’s not enough for teachers unions. CTU and others consistently work against charter schools at the Statehouse. Prior to the current legislative session, CTU opposed bills which would expand charter access and lobbied in favor of extended moratoriums on the creation of certain charters. It pushed for prohibitions on opening charter schools in any ZIP code in which a public school was closed in the previous 10 years or in ZIP codes contiguous to a ZIP code where a public school was closed.
Clearly, lobbying against the growth and flourishing of charter schools by CTU impacts the whole state, limiting parents’ options from Cairo to Rockford.
Whether it be through collective bargaining or legislation, CTU’s message is clear. The union will do whatever it takes to limit parents to a single education option – them.