CPS Closing Lawsuits and School Budgets

Two stories caught my attention today. First, two lawsuits are being heard in federal court regarding CPS closings. One suit contends that the closings disproportionately affect African-American students. Nine out of ten students affected by this years school closings are African-American. The second suit argues that CPS is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by not having an orderly plan for transitioning students with special needs.

At least 5000 special needs students will be affected by school closings. That's 5000 Individualized Education Plans (IEP). How is CPS going to insure that all those students individual needs are going to be met at their new schools? Throwing an iPad at every student isn't going to cut it either. The key word in IEP is individual. Every IEP needs to be reviewed to guarantee that each student's individual needs are met. How is CPS going to do that between now and August 26, the first day of classes? That's 42 days. All of us who are special education teachers know that it is impossible. We always have trouble getting summer assessments done and that's for students who aren't even transitioning. 

The second story was an article in the Sun-Times today. It seems that some schools have been granted additional money to their school budgets. You can read the story here. Bell Elementary School was one of the schools. The local school council approved the budget but voted to reject an additional $100,000 that was released to them. One Bell LSC member said they rejected the new money because it would make it appear that they "rolled over" after originally rejecting the budget. The chair of the Audobon LSC, which also received an additional $100,000, questioned CPS' reasoning. He asks if it is hush money because they are a middle class community.

It does sound fishy. Schools that raised concerns about their school budget shortfalls all of a sudden receive more funding. That these schools are middle class and mostly white also adds to the speculation. It sounds like more CPS divide and conquer tactics. The rejection of this extra money and the speaking out about it is a good thing though. Solidarity among parents and school communities is happening in Chicago. Everyone is seeing that we are all in this together. All of Chicago's schools are our schools.