Health and Safety
Back to School
CPS SCHOOL YEAR 2021-22
In This Section
Explore the new safety protocols we have put in place to keep our students and staff safe.
Self Screener Instructions
To keep our students and staff safe and healthy, families and staff should run through the list of self-screener questions below before leaving home each day.
COVID-19 Travel Guidance
View the latest travel guidance from the CDPH for international and domestic travel.
Vaccination Opportunities
All Chicagoans age 12 and older are now eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Find information below about locating vaccination sites, scheduling appointments and protecting yourself and your community.
Book Your Vaccination
Students and families are invited to make an appointment to get vaccinated at a CPS school-based site. The vaccine is free for all and no proof of insurance nor citizenship is required.
Find a Vaccination Site
Protect yourself, your family and your community. Find a convenient CPS COVID-19 vaccine location on our map. Visit chicago.gov for more locations throughout the city of Chicago.
COVID-19 Testing
Helping families and staff access COVID-19 testing is critical as we go back to school.
Pediatric COVID-19 Testing Sites
View a list of pediatric COVID-19 testing sites in the Chicago area.
Safe & Clean Learning Environment
During a global pandemic, risk exists for any public gathering. However, to mitigate these risks, the district has developed a comprehensive plan that includes health and safety policies and procedures aligned to local, state, and federal guidance.
Safety Best Practices
During COVID-19, families and staff should make every effort to adhere to these safety best practices when returning to school.
Tracking COVID-19
Actionable case counts represent all confirmed COVID-19 cases, including those that were reported as a result of a test taken inside of a school and those self-reported outside of a school. Case counts are not a measure of transmission in schools and numerous studies have shown that schools are not sites of significant COVID-19 transmission.
This information is updated after impacted individuals are notified.
Total Reported Actionable Cases
Information About Reporting and Terminology
- Number of Cases Reflected: Previous daily and weekly case counts may change as outstanding cases are closed. Some cases involve individuals who were present in multiple schools. In those cases, the individual is reflected in each school visited where there were close contacts. For that reason, the total number of individuals who tested positive will not match the school-by-school totals in this chart.
- Please note that last year the district had a number of pod impacts. As our students have returned to five days a week of in-person education, pod data are no longer available.
- Data Entry & Case Confirmation: The data represents confirmed, actionable cases reported as a result of testing inside of a school or self-reported outside of a school. Data corresponds with the dates of confirmation of the case and subsequent notification to the school community, not when an individual began reporting symptoms.
XXXXXXXX Cases by Week
Information About Reporting and Terminology
- Number of Cases Reflected: Previous daily and weekly case counts may change as outstanding cases are closed. Some cases involve individuals who were present in multiple schools. In those cases, the individual is reflected in each school visited where there were close contacts. For that reason, the total number of individuals who tested positive in the Schools totals will not match the totals in the District chart.
- Administration: Cases under “administration” include cases at any non-school based CPS location.
- Close Contact: A close contact is defined by the CDC as being within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for 15 or more minutes within a 24-hour period during the individual’s contagious period, with or without a mask. All individuals identified as close contacts are instructed to quarantine for 14 calendar days as required by the district and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
- Close Contact Identified: Please note that close contacts identified is the number of close contacts CPS has identified for a case at the time of investigation. Some people may be released over time if they report they are fully vaccinated. This number does not represent the active total number of people in quarantine.
- Data Entry & Case Confirmation: The data represents confirmed, actionable cases reported as a result of testing inside of a school or self-reported outside of a school. Data corresponds with the dates of confirmation of the case and subsequent notification to the school community, not when an individual began reporting symptoms.
- Child or Adult Cases: Due to privacy laws, child and adult case totals are aggregated and are not broken out at the school level.
- Week Beginning Date: Data points on the graph above represent aggregate cases for weekly ranges beginning on a specific date.
- Please note that last year the district had a number of pod impacts. As our students have returned to five days a week of in-person education, pod data are no longer available.
COVID-19 Data
CPS is tracking and posting information on COVID-19 cases and testing to provide public transparency into our monitoring efforts during the pandemic.