The Chicago school district has faced criticism for delaying the start of the new school year by a week, in what critics say is a politically motivated move. Students were scheduled to return to school on Monday as usual.
Fiscal year 2025 (SY25) Calendar Publication The district had planned to have all students in school for 176 days, starting Monday through June 12, 2025. The district cited the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the estimated 75,000 visitors that will be in the city as the reason for the postponement.
The district said the pause will allow students time to “attend competitions, volunteer and participate in the civic activities that lead up to the competition.”
The highlight angered many education experts and lawmakers, who also pointed out that American Teachers President Randi Weingarten was featured as a keynote speaker at a panel on Monday presented by the Democratic National Committee’s Climate Council.
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Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took the stage on the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday. (Reuters/Mike Seeger/Pool)
“Join us for an inspiring conference featuring Biden-Harris climate victories, new polling data, panel discussions and presentations!,” the breakout session promotion said.
Doug Meyer, a spokesman for the Public Employee Union Accountability Committee, said Thursday that the Chicago area’s decision to postpone the new school year because of the Democratic National Convention is “a clear example of what happens when public employee unions have too much power.”
“Instead of prioritizing students’ education, decisions are driven by political agendas,” Meyer said. “This overreach harms kids and highlights the dangers of allowing unions to dictate what’s best for students.”
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Critics also took note of education-related claims being made from the podium at the Democratic National Convention.
Jim Clyburn, the Democratic deputy leader of the House of Representatives from South Carolina, was slammed for claiming that “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the reason we can reopen our schools.”
Meyer’s group went further, releasing a new TV spot called “Teachers’ Favorite,” calling the Democratic candidate a “defender” of teachers union policies and accusing him of “keeping kids out of school” during the pandemic.
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Rep. Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican who represents Chicago’s western suburbs, said the city and teachers union are putting their own political interests ahead of students.
He added that this makes the case for implementing more school choice programs in Lincoln and across the nation.
“The hypocrisy of Chicago politicians and teachers unions who are keeping students from classes in order to appease their friends at the Democratic National Convention is astounding,” LaHood said. “Illinois students are still falling behind because of Governor JB Pritzker’s COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020,” the governor described those restrictions as: Protecting students and the public.
Corey DeAngelis of the American Federation for Children, which works on school choice and education issues, slammed the Chicago school district for the situation.
“The Chicago Democratic Party is controlled by the control-hungry folks of the teachers union who continue to leave our children without an education and continue to put politics above the needs of kids and their families,” said DeAngelis, who also works at the Cato Institute.
DeAngelis argued that the delayed date, combined with suggestions that children will be caught up in the partisan politics of the Democratic National Convention, is what makes school choice such an important issue.
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“Parents should be able to pay for their children’s education in a school that truly cares about them. Only then will school systems have an incentive to do the right thing and respond to the needs of families, rather than the other way around,” he said.
Sources familiar with Chicago and its education system noted that the Chicago School District currently faces a $500 million deficit and took note of media claims that teachers unions “rule” Chicago, since Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson was previously a local teachers union organizer.
On that note, DeAngelis broadly blamed Chicago politicians for allowing a “power-hungry teachers union” to “keep our kids out of school for years to come, starting in 2020.”
“They’re now putting their friends at the DNC over their children. They’ll find any excuse to put their children on the back burner. This is disgraceful,” he said.
Johnson declined to comment on the matter.
Fox News Digital reached out to Weingarten through the AFT but did not receive a response.
Representatives for Chicago Public Schools also did not respond to requests for comment.
