Chicago Public Schools has been trying to overhaul its troubled special education program for years. Its latest move in January was to install a new chief of diverse learner supports and services to address numerous issues.
But a group of CPS parents say the school district has not done enough and still discriminates against students with special needs. Over half a dozen parents protested outside CPS headquarters in the Loop on Monday to demand better treatment for special needs children and their parents — who they say struggle to get the support to which they’re legally entitled.
They’re unhappy with the district’s policy of placing students with special needs in cluster programs separate from the general school population, which they say hurts development. They want special education programs in all neighborhood schools, and more translation services for non-English-speaking parents of special needs students. They also want CPS’ schools to be 100% accessible.
“Throughout the entire city, parents have to fight to get their disabled kids supported at their school,” said Amy Nussbaum, a CPS parent who organized the protest. The parents held signs and chanted from a bullhorn, “Disability rights are human rights.”
Nussbaum decided to protest after undergoing her own “nightmare” trying to get special education services for her kindergartner, who has Williams syndrome and is nonverbal.
Parents of students with disabilities who are enrolled in CPS protest Monday outside CPS headquarters in the Loop. They’re unhappy with the district’s policy of placing students with special needs in cluster programs separate from the general school population, which they say hurts development.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
She said CPS wouldn’t allow her child to enroll at their neighborhood school because it does not have the right services. After winning a lottery for Hawthorne Scholastic Academy, a selective enrollment school, Nussbaum said CPS tried to kick out her child after two months. But the school let her daughter stay after Nussbaum got a lawyer and advocate involved, she said.
She said CPS’ attempt to expel her child was illegal, so she tried to reach out to CPS leadership to change those policies. Those requests were either denied or ignored, she said. Not every family has the resources to fight like she did, she said.
In a statement, CPS said its top priorities include the success of students with disabilities.
CPS said it’s addressing the community’s concerns with a special education advisory committee, formed last summer by the Board of Education, that’s made up of parents, CPS leaders, advocates and experts to listen to the concerns of the community.
“As a District where more than 15 percent of our students have an Individualized Education Program plan (IEP), we understand the historical struggles our families have faced and we are determined to improve services and resources for our students with disabilities,” CPS said in the statement. “We remain grateful for the many parents and advocacy organizations that have collaborated with our District through the years and pushed our system to improve our services and care.”
CPS said this year’s budget includes an additional $120 million for support and services for students with disabilities and a record number of special education teachers.
Accessibility remains an issue for many CPS facilities. The district, in its fall 2023 strategic plan, said it needed $580 million to address ADA accessibility at its schools. CPS has said it would commit $100 million over five years, starting in its 2021 budget, to addressing ADA accessibility to parking lots, main entrances, main offices and public restrooms.
About a third of CPS campuses are not ADA accessible, according to CPS’ last facilities assessment in the 2021-22 school year. Another third of schools are considered “first-floor usable,” meaning the first floor of a school is ADA accessible, according to CPS. Just under a third, 167 of 522 campuses, were considered ADA compliant, according to the school. The district expects that a third of the remaining noncompliant schools will be upgraded to “first-floor usable” by the next assessment in 2025.
Another problem is a lack of translation services for non-English speaking parents of special needs students.
Erykah Nava, an organizer for Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, said she’s talked with 10 CPS families this school year who have struggled with forming an individual education plan for their children with special needs. That barrier makes it harder for families, she said.
“Parents give up after a while. They feel there’s no support,” Nava said.
