Classroom Size, If Not Class Size

The Chicago Teachers Union sues to stop teacher layoffs, citing fire safety.

by Collin Hitt

The Chicago Teachers Union has found a new angle to prevent teacher layoffs within the deficit-ridden Chicago Public School system. They’re going to sue.

The union isn’t alleging that the workforce reduction plan from CPS violates any particular agreement with the union, or any particular state or federal education law.  Rather, it’s claiming that increased class sizes will violate a city ordinance passed decades ago in the wake of a horrific school fire. WBEZ:

CTU president Marilyn Stewart says it would be an “educational disaster” to pack 35 kids in a class, but the union can’t sue on those grounds.

So she invoked the Our Lady of the Angels school fire, which killed more than 90 children in 1958. Stewart says the lawsuit will allege that bigger class sizes violate city health and safety requirements.

Those mandate 20 square feet of space per person.