US Department of Education investigating Chicago Public Schools allegations of racial discrimination, Black Students Success Plan
Chicago Public Schools is now under the federal microscope.
There was new reaction Wednesday after the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into alleged racial discrimination.
As President Donald Trump's administration launches an investigation into Chicago Public Schools' Black Student Success Plan, one school board member said regardless of what the Department of Education does, the board will not give up on plans to elevate Black students.
The playground and classrooms have been empty for over a decade at Florence Price Elementary School in Bronzeville, which was one of 50 Chicago Public Schools closed in 2013.
"This is why a Black Student Success Plan is needed, because the mass school closures in Chicago we know had no academic benefits," Chicago Board of Education Elected Member Jitu Brown said.
The Chicago Board of Education named Brown, a former community activist, to head a committee that will oversee the district's Black Student Success Plan. When fighting for an elected school board bill, Brown and others demanded a plan to address decades of inequity be included in the bill.
"When you look at the curriculum that's offered to children based on race you can see the disparities," Brown said.
As CPS moves ahead with the plan, a national conservative parenting group and the Trump administration are trying to stop it by launching an investigation into CPS, claiming the plan violates Title VI.
"Title VI is a civil rights statute that prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating by race," said UIC School of Law Professor Steven Schwinn said.
The Trump administration claims CPS is discriminating against other races by devoting resources to Black students.
In a statement, Acting Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor wrote "Chicago Public Schools have a record of academic failure, leaving students from all backgrounds and races struggling and ill-prepared to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of contemporary American life."
Schwinn said the Black Student Success Plan does not violate Title VI.
"The Black Student Success program seeks to promote academic success for Black students in Chicago Public Schools, not to the exclusion of any other students," Schwinn said.
Brown said every racial group that experiences disparities should haven a specific plan to close equity gaps.
CPS says it is not commenting on pending litigation.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates issued the following statement:
"As a Black mother of three, a high school history teacher, and the president of a union that represents educators serving a predominantly Black and Brown student body, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of years of disinvestment, redlining, and the push to privatize public schools in our neighborhood. These factors have significantly affected the lives and educational trajectories of our students - and ultimately, their futures.
Whether it was the impact of Rahm Emanuel's closure of more than 50 neighborhood public schools, or the efforts by Paul Vallas and Arne Duncan to undermine our classrooms and surrounding school communities, the Black Student Success Plan was developed to address the man-made educational achievement gap. This gap was created by those intent on shutting the doors of opportunity for families like mine, particularly in specific ZIP codes.
Today's action by the Trump Administration's Department of Education, influenced by the right-wing group Defending Education, is yet another attempt to hinder the progress we are striving to achieve. Rather than using the Department to create opportunities for students, Trump and McMahon appear determined to transform it into a debt collection agency and a vehicle to dismantle the civil rights protections that support students and their families.
In response to the administration's misguided priorities, we are proud to stand with our most vulnerable students and support our classrooms. With our newly ratified agreement with CPS, we've secured protections for our LGBTQIA+ students and ensured that educators have the freedom to teach the complex and nuanced chapters of American and Chicago history.
At CTU, standing in solidarity is more than just words. It's action. It is the action we took in our contract to ensure that our schools were forcefields of protection for Black, Brown, and vulnerable students. And on Thursday, we will respond to the challenge from the Trump administration's Education Department with one of our own - a challenge driven and powered by everyday workers and community members in all 50 states in over 1,100 actions on May Day to resist Trump's attempts to take this country backward to the time of the Gilded Age.
We expect CPS to stand up against this baseless investigation - and we call on our city and state leaders to take real action to protect our students and schools. The White House is making its intent clear: to dismantle public education and bully the children who attend our schools."
