28-3. Class Size Monitoring Process
28-3.1. Automatic Support.
Any class whose size exceeds the limits provided under Article 28-4 shall be reviewed by the BOARD. Through the 20th day, the BOARD will evaluate classroom sizes and provide appropriate remedies, such as allocating teacher or teacher assistant positions to meet the class size requirements. The Joint Class Size Assessment Council will develop a rubric for position allocation by the end of SY25-26. The Council will be informed of any cases with deviations from the rubric prior to the 20th day and given an opportunity for input on those cases prior to the allocation being finalized. Positions allocated to address oversized classes will be deducted from the funding specified in Article 28-5. The BOARD will notify the Council of class size support allocations and an estimate of the allocated funds on a weekly basis through the 20th day. Upon request, the Council may convene to review class size data, assess the corresponding automatic support allocations and address any remaining oversize classes as outlined in Article 28-4.
28-3.2. Joint Class Size Assessment Council.
The BOARD and the UNION shall staff a 12-member Joint Class Size Assessment Council (hereinafter within this Article referred to as “the Council”). Council members must include representation of former educators or school-level administrators. To avoid deadlocks, the parties shall mutually agree upon a neutral tiebreaker appointee who will be a current or former educator. The Council shall be provided with adequate administrative support to carry out its function, which will be paid by CPS and not taken out of class size enforcement funds. The BOARD shall appoint six members, one of whom must be an educator, and the UNION shall appoint six members, one of whom must be an educator. The Council shall set standards and priorities for addressing oversized classrooms, including targeted relief to ensure equity in Priority Schools. Within the same time period, the Council shall also set standards for the functioning of the Council. The Council shall meet as needed, at the request of either party, beginning the 10th day of student attendance until December 1 of each school year. After December 1, the Council shall meet monthly.
28-3.2(a). Kindergarten Automatic Relief.
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, if the average class size of all kindergarten classrooms in a school is 23 or more as of the 20th day each classroom will automatically be provided with a Teacher Assistant. In a scenario where two classes have 23 and 22 students respectively, the class with 23 students will receive a Teacher Assistant. However if the school has space to accommodate an additional classroom, the school may open an additional section, and be provided a teacher instead. After the 20th day, the class size committee will address kindergarten classes that exceed the class size limits.
28-3.3. Priority Schools.
For the purpose of this Article, Priority Schools are defined as schools with higher indicators of need based on Opportunity Index scores. The BOARD and the UNION have the joint goal of addressing class size in schools where the student population has higher needs and may need more targeted resources in order to ensure equity.
28-3.4. Council Review of Class Size Data.
The Council will be provided with schools’ enrollment projections and budget reports following LSC/District approval in the spring, class size data by the 10th day of the school year, and class size data no later than 10 days after the end of each quarter. The Council will review projected school budgets, schedules, organization charts, space utilization, and school level staffing. The Council may request additional information from the Council administrator which shall be provided promptly in order to effectuate a timely decision. The Council shall review the class size data with a focus on oversized classrooms in Priority Schools as well as oversized classrooms in other schools as defined in 28-4. Upon review of the data or if notified of either oversized classrooms or oversized high school teaching loads, the Council shall identify which classrooms to investigate further.
28-3.5. Council Review Team Reports.
The Council review teams shall begin their assessment no later than 3 days after notification. When conducting a review of an identified class size issue, the Council review team members shall meet with the principal and impacted teachers, who shall work collaboratively with the Council members to arrive at a solution. Based on its investigation, the review teams shall provide a report to the Council within five days. The report shall include a recommendation as appropriate, inclusive of the input of the principal and impacted teachers, on how to remedy any identified class size issues. The recommendation must be shared simultaneously with the principal and the impacted teachers. The principal shall respond to the Council’s final recommendation, if the principal chooses, within three days, or before the next Council meeting, whichever occurs later. These deadlines may be extended at the discretion of the Council for good cause.
28-3.6. Council Decisions.
The Council shall issue a decision, either accepting or modifying the review team’s recommendation, at the next Council meeting following receipt of the review team’s report. The Council’s decision may include: separating oversized classrooms; adding teacher assistants; reorganizing classes or class schedules (including possible prospective relief); and other remedies as determined by the Council. The Council will grant funds necessary for the implementation of its decision. The Council shall not impose a remedy that includes establishing multi-grade classrooms in elementary schools. Council decisions are final and binding.
28-3.7. Enforcement.
The Joint Class Size Assessment Council shall be the sole and exclusive means of enforcing the commitments set forth in this Article. The Council structure shall be reviewed at the end of the 2020-2021 school year to determine effectiveness and to determine if changes to the Council or the process are necessary to improve the effectiveness of the Council.