RYH Newsletter 6.3.21
A Chicago School Board Bill Passed in the IL Senate on Tuesday
This has been quite a week folks! Here comes the RYH summary.
We continued the push for a fully elected representative school board all the way to the end of the legislative session. We were part of a press conference on Friday, May 26, covered by the Chicago Tribune here: Push is on for elected school board in Chicago.
Two Op-Eds from members of RYH board and staff (both CPS parents) were published:
South Side Weekly: Op-Ed: Lightfoot Has Failed Us on an Elected School Board – South Side Weekly
Hyde Park Herald: Lightfoot didn't keep her word on elected school board
On Tuesday afternoon, HB 2908, a concession school board bill, passed the Senate 36-15-2. This bill retains mayoral control for 6 more years but creates a path for a fully elected school board in 2027. It will now go to the House for concurrence. We are not sure when this will happen as the House is not in session. They are expected back in Springfield later this month. Read the RYH one pager on the specifics of the bill here.
This is not the school board bill that we wanted. We wanted mayoral control to end much sooner. You can read a joint statement from RYH and 6 other grassroots community organizations here. We will continue to monitor this bill and keep you posted. We really appreciate all of your efforts over the past 8-9 years (or longer!) to help change end mayoral control!
Of course, there’s been lots of press coverage. Here’s just a little bit:
WBEZ: Chicago’s Mayor Vows To Change Elected School Board Bill Before It Becomes Law
Chicago Tribune: Mayor Lightfoot knocks elected school board compromise for Chicago Public Schools as ‘having nothing to do with democracy’ but says it’s ‘not real yet’
Sun-Times: CPS elected school board: Senate passes bill creating elected Chicago board
Chalkbeat Chicago: Illinois Senate passes bill for an elected school board in Chicago
ABC 7: Illinois Senate votes to create elected school board for Chicago Public Schools
What Else Happened in Springfield?
Here’s RYH’s Illinois Legislative Round-Up.
And below is some press coverage of various bills that we’ve all been watching.
WBEZ: Illinois Lawmakers Boost School Spending, Guarantee Recess And Mandate Sex Ed
Chalkbeat Chicago: Illinois approves budget with $350M for schools
Chalkbeat Chicago | Block Club Chicago: Illinois bill banning school hair discrimination heads to governor
Chicago Tribune: Seclusion, restraint to be dramatically limited in Illinois schools
CPS Board of Ed Monthly Meeting
You can read our statements plus all the press coverage of the day here. We also include links to video of the meeting and the #ChiDocumenters webpage with all the documentation of the meeting. Some press:
Sun-Times: CPS rejects charter school relocation to Albany Park, cites potential harm to neighborhood school
Chalkbeat Chicago: ‘Turnaround is a relic’: Chicago officially winds down reform-era school improvement program
Chicago Tribune: CPS fall plans include in-person school, very limited virtual classes
Special Education: SSCA/UER Resources & More!
Last night, RYH teamed up with Equip for Equality for a parent training and information session on UER (Universal Enrichment Remedy) and SSCA (Student Specific Corrective Action). Free extra special ed services or reimbursement for extra services you already paid for?!? Yes! And did you know CPS has identified over 10,000 students to automatically get extra services to make up for their illegal special education actions in school years 2016-17 & 2017-18? It’s true!
All of the resources from last night’s event plus a previous Spanish language one are here.
ODLSS/MOPD Virtual Community Connections Expo Tickets, Fri, Jun 4, 2021 at 1:00 PM
Family Resource Center on Disabilities (FRCD) offers FREE virtual IEP support. More here.
#NoGoCPS: If you have an 8th Grader with an IEP in CPS who you believe was denied opportunity for appropriate High School programs due to NWEA and Grade cut scores (for either Application or Acceptance), we want to hear from you at bit.ly/NoGoCPS. Thank you! More on this issue here.
Local School Council (LSC) Events
LSCs Working Together Q & A
Hosted by Lugenia Burns Hope Center
Wed, June 9 | 6PM | Register
The Gathering: Organizing for Effectiveness
Hosted by LSCs.4.All Coalition
Tues, June 22 | 4:30PM | Register
Youth Led Meetings For Youth!
On Fridays, #PoliceFreeSchools youth host a call for fellow students to learn more and get involved. 5PM | Register
ACTION ALERT: Tell ISBE To Stop Their Vote To Determine New Student Tests!
We are partnering with several organizations to call on the IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) to stop a vote scheduled for June 16. They intend to approve spending more than $227M over the next 10 years on a state-mandated testing program that increases high-stakes tests for students. Here’s what you can do:
Join us at a webinar! Mon, June 7 | 6PM | Register
Pandemic Schooling
The IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) passed a resolution about the 2021-22 school year supporting in person learning and limiting remote learning as an option for families. In the weekly ISBE newsletter sent on May 25, Superintendent Dr. Ayala explains some nuances with the resolution and tries to clarify some questions. You can read the newsletter here. And here’s a Q & A document on the resolution. Please look out for any upcoming meetings or ways to share opinions and ideas with your school or district.
At the CPS Board of Ed meeting last week, CPS says they are planning on a return to in person learning 5 days a week in the fall and that more information will be available for families soon. They also stated that they will be surveying families to find out about possible virtual schooling needs.
Sun-Times: Remote learning will return this fall for medically fragile students despite in-person mandate
WBEZ: The Pandemic Propelled CPS Out The Tech 'Dark Ages'
RYH Says, “Subscribe To Newswire From City Bureau!”
RYH was part of a cohort receiving and providing feedback on Newswire, a daily email newsletter from City Bureau highlighting their work of documenting 10-20 public meetings a week as well as highlighting ways you can get involved in your community and in Chicago. We have appreciated their coverage of the monthly meetings of the CPS Board of Ed as well as covering most Community Action Council (CAC) meetings. Subscribe here.
Learn more in this blog post: Why We’re Launching Newswire, Your Daily Dose of Chicago Civic News.
Want to know how Chicago ticks? Trying to get involved in your community? This people-powered civic newsletter has you covered.
Job Alert
Action Now Institute/Action Now is now in the process of hiring an Executive Director. The job description is here.
CPSuccess!
WBEZ: Chicago Class Of 2021 Reflects On High School Amid COVID Kenwood & Jones HSs
Hyde Park Herald: Student-made mosaic at Bret Harte, paid for with $14,000 in grants, completed
Art on theMart is featuring artwork from CPS students until June 26 | 9-9:30PM
In Other News
Chalkbeat Chicago: Chicago schools will train students and staff to identify and report racism and bias incidents
Block Club Chicago: West Side Organizers Battled To Block A $95 Million Police Training Academy. Now They're Sharing What They Learned To Help Other Activists
Chalkbeat Chicago: Los niños de Chicago deben aprender sobre la tortura policial. ¿Cómo se les enseña?
Sign up to receive the RYH weekly email newsletter here!
Thanks for reading! We hope you are all well!
CPS: CEO Survey | Calendar | PreK
Webpage worth noting: Chicago Public Schools CEO Selection Process. There is a survey on this page- scroll down- due Fri, June 4.
ICYMI... the CPS BOE approved the 2021-22 school calendar in March 2021. The 1st day for CPS students is Mon, Aug 30. Printable calendar here (click on SY2021-22 Calendar.)
PreK: Apply Now Flyer and the FCRC/Library Flyer listing the libraries that will be providing enrollment support for our families. Before visiting a library, parents must make an appointment, here is a link to schedule their appointment: Spanish | English