Oct. 24--The Chicago Public Schools executive in charge of services for students with special needs has resigned.
The departure of Markay Winston, who worked as head of CPS' Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services, comes as the district continues efforts to trim special education expenses in the face of opposition from parents and advocates.
Winston was hired in the summer of 2012 after a stint as the director of student services of Cincinnati Public Schools. She did not respond to a request for comment Friday and the district did not provide any further information on her resignation.
In a statement, CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson thanked Winston for her service and said that "CPS remains fully committed to meeting the needs of every child with an individualized education plan, and we will continue to work with our principals to improve the academic outcomes of all of our students."
The district this year is shuffling hundreds of special education teacher and aide positions across the city's schools while it grapples with the difficulty of making changes to programs that are governed by specific plans for special-needs students as well as complex federal and state regulations.
Enrollment data distributed last month indicated the district could lose about 52 special education aides and 16 teachers.
CPS said it was in the final stages of reviewing those reductions, which come on top of cuts to special education that were announced this summer as part of a plan to trim the district's budget by $200 million.
CPS acknowledged the cuts announced this past summer were only partially implemented after an unspecified number of jobs were preserved to comply with the individual education plans that outline services required for each special-needs student.
CPS said a review by Winston's former office justified the cuts to special education, concluding that CPS exceeded state standards for special education staffing because hiring had outpaced the enrollment of special needs students.
"We're trying to make sure that we're aligning all the supports and services that we're delivering to (state) guidelines," Winston said during an emotional public hearing on the district budget in August.
"Part of the effort is, one, to make sure we're closer in alignment with our class size ratios," she said. "But at the same time, we are not watering down or compromising the quality of supports and services that we're delivering."
CPS said it expects to complete a review of its special education staffing by November and that no more jobs will be cut until the review process is complete.
That announcement came after a stream of criticism at last month's Chicago Board of Education meeting.
Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, a frequent critic of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, was among a large contingent of residents who called on the school board to restore special education funding.
"A reduction in services for these students with special needs is what many have described as a recipe for violating the civil rights, and indeed the human rights of these children," Waguespack told board members.
"The lawsuits that will rain down on us are going to cost far more than the restoration of these cuts."
District chief Forrest Claypool replied that the district will comply with learning plans for special-needs students last month, which he called "sacrosanct."
"Unlike other areas of education where you can make arguments about 'is this enough, or not enough,' this is objective," Claypool said. "Because each child has an individual education plan that the law -- the law -- requires to be met, as well as best practices. And the resources for that plan will be met."
jjperez@tribpub.com
