Effective for the 2025-2026 school year, clinicians and itinerant teachers are eligible to use flexible professional development days. This provision allows required professional development hours to be completed at alternative times during the school year. 

These flexible hours may be completed in various increments or swapped with clinician- and itinerant-directed time. The designated principal-directed/department-directed professional development days are August 11, 2025, August 12, 2025, and June 8, 2026. Only these specific days may be utilized flexibly.

Due to the recent ratification of the 2024-2028 CPS/CTU Agreement by the Board of Education, CPS and the CTU have jointly developed the proposal below. This model will be presented to all union-member clinicians and itinerant teachers for a vote. Should the proposal be rejected, all professional development must be completed on the designated dates listed above.

A CTU member vote on the Clinician and Itinerant Principal-Directed flexible professional development days will be conducted electronically on Wed. Aug. 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following links. (Please note that these links will not be live until Wednesday, Aug 13 at 8 a.m., and they will close at exactly 4 p.m.)

Eligible voters are all CTU union members in Clinician or Itinerant positions who are dues paying members of the Chicago Teachers Union. You will only be able to access the ballot using your CPS email address.  The Ballots will be accessible at the links above from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wed. Aug. 13.

Union members will be asked to vote on the following question: 

Do you wish to waive the provision of Article 19-1 in the following way: 

  • August 12, 2025 (Principal-directed) – Used as scheduled for Clinicians and Itinerant Teachers.
  • August 14, 2025 (Principal-directed) – Used as scheduled for Clinicians and Itinerant Teachers.
  • January 5, 2026 (Originally teacher-directed) – Will become a principal-directed flex PD day for Clinicians and Itinerant Teachers.
  • June 8, 2026 (Originally principal-directed) – Will become a teacher-directed PD day. Clinicians and Itinerant Teachers will work remote this day.