Chicago Public Schools said it plans to shift to optional masking for staff and students in a week, a move that could set up the third-largest U.S. system for another scuffle with its teachers union.
The system, which serves more than 300,000 students, is the latest nationally to make the change. It will still encourage students pre-K through grade 12 and staff to use masks but is removing the requirement to wear them after Covid-19 infection rates have dropped and vaccination rates have grown, it said in a statement.
