The shutdown of Chicago public schools - the third largest school district in the country with 350,000 students - is headed into its second week. Everyone involved - the mayor, the school district officials, the teachers, the parents - agree that remote learning is bad for students and for parents, particularly those from lower income families. Everyone agrees that the best outcome would be for children to be back in school and safe. And there is where the problem arises.

The teachers are objecting because they don't believe the students, or the teachers and staff will be safe. As a union statement released on Sunday stated, the desire to be in the classroom "must be balanced by ensuring those classrooms are safe, healthy and well resourced, with proper mitigation to reduce the spread of COVID-19." Surely that is right.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants the schools open, arguing that "We can't forget about how disruptive that remote learning process is to individual parents who have to work, who can't afford the luxury of staying home." Surely that is right. And we know that children from parents that must work fare far less well than those from more affluent families in remote learning situations.

The crisis is forced not by the teachers but by the pandemic - as Omicron is spiking, driving cases in Chicago to record levels. It isn't surprising that parents and teachers and school staff would be concerned about how safe the schools are.

Safety requires resources. KN95 masks must be available to all students, teachers and staff. Antigen tests must be readily available. Vaccination should be universal. Ventilation and air purification must be built into classrooms. Space for adequate distancing is needed. Nurses need to be available to drive testing and tracking and treat those who are ill.

The mayor argues that schools are safe -- $100 million has been spent on air purification. The school district promised to provide 30,000 screening tests per week. More than 90 percent of the staff has been vaccinated.

Yet, teachers and parents still have every reason to be concerned -- 240,000 students are not vaccinated. School officials erred badly in the failed effort to test students over winter break. Dr. Allison Arwady, the city's public health commissioner, says she's "extremely comfortable" with students learning inside schools, but then says she considers the threat posed by Omicron for children to be "similar to flu," an attitude no teacher at risk could share.

The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised schools to avoid closures by using a protocol known as "test to stay," in which close contacts of those who test positive are given two antigen tests in a week, with those who test positive required to quarantine at home. But before the walkout, Chicago - like many urban school districts - admitted it didn't have nearly enough tests to achieve this.

Recent reports say the round-the-clock negotiations have produced some progress. The district pledged to supply KN95 masks for all students and teachers and staff. The state of Illinois promised to supply 350,000 antigen tests, still not enough but a start.

There has been no agreement, apparently, on the standards - or metrics to use the formal term - for closing schools. What percentage of students testing positive will lead to going to remote learning? In some affluent suburban schools, a 10 percent positive rate has triggered a closing. Some urban schools have stayed open with rates more than double that.

The spiking of the pandemic exposes the abiding inequality of our schools. All schools need nurses to administer tests and track the disease. All schools need janitors and staff able to clean the schools each night. Not surprisingly, affluent school districts have far greater access to what's needed than Chicago's schools.

A resolution to this crisis is needed and needed fast. While the schools must do more, so must the parents. Parents need to take more personal responsibility. They should be vaccinated and they should ensure that their children are vaccinated.

The mayor and the teachers union have taken too much of the burden on themselves. They should open up the table to include representatives from the governor's office, principals, janitors, parents. They need to forge an agreement on the minimum standards needed to keep children and teachers safe - and schools open. If this requires more resources, surely the city, state and the federal government should step up. We know children should be in school, only if they and their teachers can be safe. Now it is time to act to get that done.

There is a pattern of race and class discrimination. Students and parents deserve equal protection under the law now. The state must step up to the plate to have an even playing field between the haves and have nots.

The parents must do five things:

-Take your child to school

-Meet your child's teacher

Exchange numbers

-Turn the TV off three hours a night

-Pick up your child's report card every nine weeks.

You can write to the Rev. Jesse Jackson in care of this newspaper or by email at jjackson@rainbowpush.org. Follow him on Twitter @RevJJackson.