Jan. 30--Students who provide false information to win access to the city's selective-enrollment schools will be permanently barred from the marquee programs under a policy announced Friday by Chicago Public Schools.
The district's decision to place what it called a "lifetime ban" on students who cheat follows an inspector general's report that found families that provide false information to get children in to the highly competitive schools seldom face serious consequences.
The rule applies to students who falsely claim Chicago residency to win access to the schools, and also to students who claim to live in a more disadvantaged city neighborhood to improve their chances in a system that takes socio-economic factors into consideration.
"Fraud not only undermines confidence in the school system, it robs a deserving student of an important educational opportunity," district CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. "With a lifetime ban, we are sending a strong message to parents that this fraud will no longer be tolerated and that consequences cannot be avoided."
Students banned from the schools after lying to get in also would be prohibited from simply transferring back in or re-enrolling to the same school.
In a report issued in January, CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler criticized the district for its lack of a clear policy that creates "lasting and meaningful penalties for selective enrollment fraud."
Schuler called the new policy a "huge step in the right direction toward ensuring that only deserving students land seats at CPS's selective-enrollment schools."
"I'm glad to see that our hue and cry received prompt attention from Mr. Claypool and his administration," Schuler said in a statement to the Tribune. "I am optimistic that today's action will provide the much needed deterrence we called for."
Fraud to gain access to the city's best schools occurs regularly because of the fierce competition for a seat in one of the buildings. Last year, school officials said the district received more than 16,000 applications for 3,200 available selective-enrollment seats at 11 high schools.
Test scores play a role in a student's ability to get into a school such as Whitney Young Magnet High School, but so does his or her ZIP code. After a 2009 federal order barred the use of race as a key school admissions factor, the district began requiring a certain percentage of each school's students to come from each of four socio-economic "tiers" in Chicago.
The inspector general's office found that in many cases, students who fraudulently won access to a selective-enrollment school by lying about where they lived were allowed to stay in the school or were allowed to transfer back into the same school. CPS also tends to avoid removing fraudulently enrolled students who are in their senior year, according to the report.
