45-4. Standing Committees
45-4.1. Career and Technical Education.
A standing Career and Technical Education Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to Career and Technical Education programs and issues. The committee will study CTE programs and career academy curricula, funding and other issues related to the operations of CTE programs and career academies. Annually in March the committee shall submit recommendations to the CEO for implementation in July.
45-4.2. Early Childhood Education.
A standing Early Childhood Education Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to Early Childhood Education programs and issues.
45-4.3. Student Discipline, Violence Prevention, Truancy and School Safety.
A standing Student Discipline, Violence Prevention, Truancy and School Safety Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to student discipline, truancy and school safety issues. The BOARD will receive recommendations from the Student Discipline, Truancy and School Safety Committee to improve the culture and climate of the schools in order to implement the BOARD’s commitment to Restorative Justice practices, Social Emotional Learning, Safety, Security and fidelity in student attendance reporting.
45-4.4. Special Education.
A standing Special Education Committee is established to study and make recommendations with special education, students with disabilities, the unique concerns of cluster programs, special education teacher workload, and related issues. The Committee shall investigate workload complaints from bargaining unit employees working with students with disabilities, including special education teachers, clinicians and counselors. The Committee shall make recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer, with a copy to the UNION President.
45-4.5. Counselor and Case Management.
A standing Case Management Committee is established to study and make recommendations with case management and related issues.
45-4.6. Clinician Work Load.
A work committee shall investigate workload complaints from clinicians working with students. The committee shall investigate and make recommendations about hiring additional clinicians to reduce current workload, as well as pipeline programs for hard to staff clinician disciplines. The Committee shall submit recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer, with a copy to the Union President.
45-4.7. Workload Reduction Funding.
The BOARD agrees to commit $2,500,000 per year during this Agreement to fund costs associated with workload reduction as jointly recommended by the Special Education Committee, the Counselor and Case Management Committee, and the Clinician Work Load Committee.
45-4.8. Teacher Evaluation.
A standing Joint Committee on Teacher Evaluation is created under Article 39 and shall have the authority and purposes set forth in Article 39.
45-4.9. Employee Discipline.
A standing Employee Discipline Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to employee discipline.
45-4.10. Information Technology.
A standing Information Technology Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to information technology and BOARD employee access to technological resources.
45-4.11. Budget.
The parties shall establish an Advisory Committee on Budget, consisting of two (2) elected representatives of the Chicago Teachers Union, two (2) members of the Chicago Board of Education, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Chicago Board of Education (or the equivalent position), whose purpose is to conduct monthly meetings upon the request of either party for the purpose of making a recommendation to the BOARD for its annual budget. The committee shall be allowed access to all relevant information pertaining to the BOARD’s budget, and its meetings may include invited guests as agreed by the committee.
45-4.12. Air Conditioning and Temperature Control.
A standing Air Conditioning and Temperature Control Committee is established to investigate, study and determine a timetable for air conditioning or other temperature controls for classrooms in use during July or August.
45-4.13. Physical Education.
A standing Physical Education Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to physical education and sports programs.
45-4.14. Pay.
A standing Pay Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to career ladders, the BOARD's policies with respect to lane movement, and differentiated compensation.
45-4.15. Academic Calendar.
A standing Academic Calendar Committee is established to study and make recommendations with respect to a unified calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. The committee’s recommendations will comport with Article 19.
45-4.16. Diversity.
A standing diversity committee is added to monitor and make recommendations to improve teacher and other staff racial diversity to better reflect student population, including university partnerships for the purpose of increasing the number of teachers of color.
45-4.17. Bilingual Education.
A standing Bilingual Education committee is added to monitor progress on recommendations to increase EL students’ access to quality instruction and services.
45-4.18. PSRP.
A standing PSRP committee is added to determine changes, if any, to the PSRP evaluation plan and other PSRP issues.
45-4.19. Sports.
A 10-member Sports Committee is established, with 5 members appointed by the Board and 5 members appointed by the Union. The Joint Sports Committee shall have the following responsibilities:
- Review the allocation of resources including, but not limited to, transportation, equipment, uniforms, and necessary supplies to ensure that schools in need of greater support for athletics receive priority in distribution of available funds, including securing corporate sponsorships, donations and grant dollars.
- Create a model for greater equity in compensation for coaches across all sports categories.
45-4.20. Joint Educator Recruitment and Retention Committee.
A standing committee on educator recruitment and retention is established to further develop and maintain educator pipeline programs and programs to support educators and promote retention. The committee will create streamlined guidance between colleges and universities, CPS, and the CTU Foundation for pathways to teaching careers for CPS students and non-teaching CPS staff.
The committee will focus on the following initiatives; this list is not exhaustive:
Recruitment of Guest Teachers and PSRPS: Prioritize recruitment of guest teachers and PSRPs to become regular licensed teachers through the Teacher Residency Program.
Recruitment and Hiring: Increase the recruitment and hiring of ESL & Bilingual endorsed candidates for all positions, with a specific emphasis on hiring more bilingual clinicians and educators in high-needs content areas. Recruitment strategies shall prioritize matching candidates with schools that have seen an increase of 10% or more in their EL student population in any year. (See Article 46-4.1)
School Social Worker Pipeline: Create and implement a pipeline that includes, at a minimum, information on education and internship requirements for candidates to earn an Illinois State Board of Education license endorsed in School Social Work. The BOARD and the UNION shall partner with local colleges and universities, which may include the City Colleges of Chicago, to recruit CPS employees, including educational support personnel, and students to participate.
Clinician Recruitment and Retention Plan: Develop and adopt a plan for all clinician positions, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:
Immediate posting of vacancies on the Board’s job posting site.
Streamlined and efficient hiring and onboarding practices to reduce delays.
Utilizing school-based administration and discipline managers in recruitment and retention efforts.
Allowing part-time employment for clinician positions.
Conducting a Community Partner Audit to evaluate effective partnerships and services and creating a plan to hire directly for similar roles within CPS at each school.
Targeted recruitment and retention incentives
Pipeline Program for Health Service Nurses: Build upon the existing pipeline program that supports Health Service Nurses in earning licensure as School Nurses. In partnership with local colleges and universities, which may include the City Colleges of Chicago, the Board will support CPS Nursing and Education CTE program students in enrolling in degree programs that may lead to employment with the Board.
CTE Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Develop and implement a plan to recruit and retain CTE teachers and teachers eligible to teacher early college in specialized areas based on projected school hiring needs (see Article 18-2.1 and 18-26)
Resident Teacher Cohort for Fine Arts: Continue to support a resident teacher cohort for fine arts disciplines based on projected staffing needs. This cohort will be part of a teacher certification program for individuals with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts who seek to become certified teachers. Participants will be compensated during their training and must commit to teaching in Chicago Public Schools for a period aligned with other residency programs.
The Committee will strive to make decisions by consensus. Consensus is defined as either a unanimous decision or a majority decision that all Committee members, including those with dissenting views, are willing to support. If consensus cannot be reached, the matter will be referred to the Chief Talent Officer, who will consult with the UNION President before making a final decision.
45-4.21. Joint Green Schools & Climate Change Preparedness Committee.
A standing committee is established to sustain and improve the Board’s existing district-wide environmentally focused capital improvements and GHG emissions reduction efforts. The Committee will consist of five bargaining unit members appointed by the Union, and five members appointed by the Board. Meetings will be held quarterly. The Committee may seek input from the Student Advisory Council as they identify and develop initiatives. The primary objectives include identifying initiatives to reduce the District’s carbon footprint, environmentally focused capital improvement efforts, and collaboration on securing qualifying federal grant funding. To achieve these objectives, the committee will explore initiatives around green spaces, renewable energy projects, energy efficiency upgrades, sustainable green transportation initiatives and recycling programs. The BOARD in collaboration with the UNION, will update its Climate Action Plan by the end of the 2025-2026 school year, establishing new goals in key areas such as energy and water, facilities, renewable energy, waste management and recycling, and transportation. The revised Plan will outline initiatives aimed at minimizing the BOARD’s environmental impact across capital projects and facility operations.
45-4.22. Emergency District-level Joint Safety Committee.
Upon the declaration of a public health emergency or state of emergency by local or state authorities, a standing district-level joint committee is established for the purpose of identifying and providing recommendations for addressing issues that directly affect the safety of students and staff as a result of the declared emergency. The Safety committee shall review safe practices, encourage and monitor compliance with the BOARD’s health and safety protocols. The safety committee shall have access to relevant and necessary information related to the public health emergency or state of emergency, not exempt from disclosure by law, pertaining to enforcement of this Agreement. The committee will meet at least once per month and shall remain in effect for the duration of the declared public health emergency or state of emergency.
45-4.23. Joint School Counseling Committee.
A standing committee on School Counseling is established to address issues facing CPS school counseling programs.
45-4.24. Joint Housing Committee.
The BOARD will participate in the City of Chicago’s CHI Collaborative Task Force, which aims to coordinate city services and remove obstacles to achieving stable housing. A standing committee on Housing is established to advise on how the BOARD can align its internal policies and procedures with those of city departments and sister agencies. This alignment is intended to address issues that affect unhoused students and their families, with the goal of reducing the number of students and families who are unhoused or unstably housed. CPS will solicit feedback from CTU in the development of these initiatives.
45-4.25. School Meals and Nutrition Committee.
The CTU and the Board shall convene a School Meals and Nutrition Committee to explore initiatives aimed at providing healthy, high-quality food to all students.The Committee will comprise five bargaining unit members appointed by the Union and five members appointed by the Board. Meetings will be held quarterly. The primary objectives of the Committee include understanding the district’s nutrition operations, menus, sourcing challenges, Farm to School program, Vending program and relevant regulations; identifying initiatives to enhance nutritionally balanced menus. Additionally, the Committee will collaborate with a Youth Advisory Council made up of students who will provide input on the Board’s decisions regarding school dining options.