When was the last time this blog had a look at what's going on with the Chicago Public Schools. The Dept. of Education under 47th President Donald J. Trump is having a look at CPS' "Black Student Success Plan" citing the possibility that it is discriminatory under the Civil Rights Act.
From the Chicago Tribune:
The federal government launched an investigation into Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday related to allegations of discrimination in the district’s Black Student Success Plan.
The plan to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of the district’s Black students was solidified in 2021 legislation that remade Chicago’s school board into an elected body, following decades of mayoral appointees. Activists who championed it argued that Black students were uniquely positioned to fail because of longstanding racial inequalities in Chicago and the result of historic and ongoing discrimination in the United States.
But students of all races struggle academically in Chicago, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
“Rather than address its record honestly, CPS seeks to allocate additional resources to favored students on the basis of race,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, is quoted as saying in the release.
It cites a complaint by Parents Defending Education, a group with a history of interrogating race-based policies. That group’s complaint alleges that the district’s Black Student Success Plan “violates Title VI by focusing on remedial measures only for Black students.” Parents Defending Education also filed a complaint against a similar initiative in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The group’s complaint against CPS acknowledges that the district had organized dozens of meetings with community members to implement the plan. The complaint also includes a graphic from early December 2023 on a slide at a community meeting that showed 6 percent of Black students read at a mid- or above-grade level. But the graphic shows Latino students “face even greater difficulties: (five) percent are (at) mid or above grade level.”
Part of a greater effort by the 2nd Trump Administration to fight DEI policies. Fighting against Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies has been one initiative undertaken by the new administration. Well not so new since we're past the 100 day mark.
I suppose for this I'm torn. Perhaps to help certain disadvantaged students is of no issue to me. Of course I may question how a school may go about it. What exactly makes this discriminatory to other disadvantaged students?
If you can get past the paywall, this is worth your attention.
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