An Illinois state labor board has dealt a blow to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s push to lengthen the school day for the city’s elementary children, siding with the Chicago Teachers Union, which wants to compel schools to abide by the terms of the current union-district contract.
The mayor had persuaded 13 schools to take extra money in exchange for adding 90 minutes of instruction per day. He noted the city has one of the nation’s shortest school days, averaging less than six hours.
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board voted 5-0 last week to ask the state attorney general to seek court relief to block the longer school day from taking effect this year.
