Chicago school parent: Closure is devastating

Hundreds of thousands of Chicago students remain out of school for a second straight day after leaders of the nation's third-largest school district failed to resolve a deepening clash with the influential teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols.

Bluma, student parent said " My kids were just very excited to be back in school, back to the routine, get to see their friends, they didn't get to see over winter break and just get back into that school routine, and to find that was disrupted two days into it, I was irate and livid.".

 The Chicago Teachers Union voted to revert to online instruction and told teachers to stay home. The move just two days after students returned from winter break prompted district officials to cancel classes.

Schools remain closed Thursday. Chicago Public Schools officials have rejected a return to remote learning, saying it worsens racial inequities and is detrimental to academic performance, mental health and attendance.