CHICAGO _ Students with special needs in Chicago scored a major victory last month when the state Board of Education ordered dramatic changes in the way Chicago Public Schools offers special-education services to students.
After emotional testimony from parents, teachers and advocates across Chicago during the Illinois State Board of Education's first-ever public inquiry, the state found CPS to be in violation of multiple state and federal special-education laws _ from requiring overly complicated forms that shut out many qualifying students simply because of paperwork problems, to denying transportation citing arbitrary reasons, to failing to get struggling or students with mental illness into therapeutic schools during crises.
In announcing the corrective recommendations May 16, the state board promised to appoint _ and pay for _ a special monitor to work with CPS over the next three years. State school officials have also recommended that CPS work with them to identify students whose services were delayed or denied in recent years, so their parents or guardians may pursue corrective action.
As the school year draws to a close, state officials are still in the process of hiring the monitor and hope to have one in place by August, said ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews. In the meantime, advocates say that most of the same problems that led to the inquiry still exist and worry that a single monitor _ overseeing 50,000 CPS students with individualized educational programs _ won't be enough to fix them. They also point out that corrective action will do little to undo the harm to students who were turned away without services for years.
"We remain concerned that things aren't being done fast enough and CPS is still continuing to have these things happening," said Margie Wakelin, a supervising attorney for the special education clinic at Equip for Equality, a nonprofit organization that is working with more than 500 Chicago families who have been denied CPS special needs services since 2016.
"It's just a difficult situation, and there's a lot of work to be done," Wakelin said.
In a statement provided to the Tribune, CPS press secretary Emily Bolton said the school district has implemented several changes in recent months to improve special education services. The changes, which include budget and staffing improvements, efforts to enhance community and parent engagement, and streamlining data requirements, are expected to continue in the coming months, Bolton said.
"CPS is committed to improving the district's special education programs, and we are dedicated to working in conjunction with ISBE and the special monitor to ensure Chicago students have access to the high quality special education programming they deserve," Bolton said.
Beyond the policy discussions are real children who have been denied services, missed opportunities and fallen behind while parents and advocates have tried to navigate what they call a confusing and chaotic system. Here are three of their stories.
