How Many Students Are in Special Education Limbo?

At the Chicago Board of Education's August meeting, Superintendent/CEO Macquline King was eager to detail data points regarding Chicago Public Schools' preparedness to meet the needs of students with disabilities on Day One. She pointed to more than 12,000 students routed for bus service on the first day, up 16% from the previous year. She also pointed to the more than 1000 staff recently hired to support students with disabilities, and a special education teacher vacancy rate below 2%.

But, King added, that didn't mean all the sailing was smooth. "I do want to acknowledge that for students with disabilities who are attending a new school or have a recent IEP or 504 plan, there can be a lag time between the start of the school year [and] the start of services, because of the request for services that has to be placed," she said. "This is the result of just our schools needing to assess the child’s required minutes and adjust their staffing appropriately, whether within the school or to make a request to provide the services needed.”

“Our goal at the district is always to work as quickly as possible and to be responsive to the students’ needs, and we appreciate the patience and partnership of our families in this work.” 

At the same board meeting, three days into the school year, Danielle Giles came to advocate for her son Zion, who is Deaf and has limb differences. He had received his high school placement at Whitney Young on August 21, only three days before school began. "Zion's transition meeting was May 15. CPS knew his needs, and he should have received placement in that meeting. Yet he did not receive placement until the Friday afternoon before school started," she told the board. Whitney Young has long offered services for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing students, but Giles says staff there told her the school was not immediately prepared to meet all of Zion's needs as laid out in his IEP.

In an interview last night, Giles said Zion now has a full complement of sign language interpreters, but she is still unsure whether CPS can provide adequate backup coverage when an interpreter is absent. Other needs listed in his IEP also have yet to be met. She has filed a due process complaint with the state and continues to advocate to ensure Zion has the full complement of services he needs in school.

It's now three weeks into the school year, and Blaire Flowers, a CPS mom who co-chairs the Austin Community Action Council, says her youngest daughter, a 4-year-old who requires special education services, has yet to start pre-K. "I am still waiting for her placement," said Flowers. Her 7-year-old son attends Brunson Elementary in North Austin, and Flowers hopes her youngest will join him there soon.

Last Thursday, Maureen sent CPS an email with five questions, including these two:

How many students are in school but cannot yet access all their required special education services because schools have to adjust staffing to meet the requirements of their IEP/504 plans?

How many students with disabilities have yet to receive placement letters assigning them to a school?

As of yesterday, CPS had not responded. These kinds of questions usually require a FOIA. Stay tuned.

InFocus: Connie Anderson

By Jewél Jackson

When Connie Anderson and her young twin daughters moved from Arkansas to the Windy City, running for the Chicago Board of Education was not on her mind. But now, after 20 years of navigating Chicago Public Schools, experiencing challenges within special education,  and seeing differences in how schools are resourced, she said, “It feels like the right thing to do.” 

She sees the difference in the support families get at schools like Stevenson High School on the North Shore and what’s available for CPS families. And she disagrees with those who think if parents just advocate hard enough, their kids will be  OK.  “I barely made it as a single parent, fighting the schools, working full time, going back to school myself,” said Anderson. “It was a sacrifice of sacrifice. I cannot expect for every parent to have to do this because that parent may have two jobs and four kids,” she said. 

Nowadays, Anderson’s daughters are grown, and she lives in South Chicago with her husband, Clifton Muhammad. They jointly own and operate “The Record Track,” a record store that Anderson’s husband inherited from his late uncle. The store has been a community pillar for over 30 years. In  addition to selling records, they provide music lessons, offer instrument rentals and host various community events. 

In July, Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Anderson to fill the vacant seat of board vice president, Olga Bautista, who stepped down in March. At the same time, she’s a candidate for the elected seat. A WBEZ story suggested that Anderson has a “leg up” in the upcoming elections. 

Anderson disagrees. She recognizes that the optics of a mayoral appointment could hurt her credibility in some parts of the community. “I am definitely coming into risky times with the politicals,” she said. “I have something to lose.” 

She insists she has maintained her independence through the appointment process and will continue to speak her own mind as both an appointed board member and a candidate for the elected seat. “I stand on my morals and my values and my history. I do not veer from what I believe,” she said.

Priorities

Fully funded schools. “Funding is the core of everything that is necessary for schools to function,” she said. “An administrator of a school knows exactly what he or she needs. That is not my job. My job is to assure that you have the funding to implement the things that you need in order for your kids to be prepared and to succeed.” 

All of her other priorities–from arts to adequate special education staffing, career exploration and facilities–can only be achieved if schools receive the funding they need.

Arts education. “I shouldn't go into a school and you're not having a great art class or a great music class. These components change the trajectory of a child's thought process,” she said, allowing them to become deeper, more multifaceted thinkers.

Equitable resources for schools in historically underserved areas. “New Sullivan should be just as competitive as Skinner North or Skinner West,” said Anderson. “How could we get New Sullivan just as competitive? Most likely, they will need more resources.”

Soundbite. Anderson says she's not afraid to make the kind of change that ruffles feathers. “I’m excited to allow people to be a little scared…those that have taken advantage of these kids. It is our job to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and I’m excited to put fear in those who're taking advantage of those people.

2026 Hancock Grad Joins District 8b Race

Alexander Angeles, a 2026 graduate of Hancock College Prep, recently filed to run as a write-in candidate in Chicago school board district 8b. Angeles is now studying political science at the University of Illinois Chicago while working two jobs. But he's eager to take on a third, unpaid gig. "I'm young. I'm energetic. I can stay up for two days and still have a smile on my face," he said. Angeles has a longstanding interest in politics and served as a student Local School Council member at Hancock.

"When I found out that [incumbent board member] Cydney Wallace was kicked off the ballot, I felt frustrated," he said. "It just didn't sit well with me that [Juan Ignacio Gonzalez] was the only option. More options are better." You can learn more about Angeles at his campaign website or Instagram.

Events

Tonight! 46th & 48th Ward Candidate Forum, featuring all four presidential candidates plus District 2b, 4a, and 4b, Bell Elementary, 3730 N. Oakley, Doors open 6:15, forum begins 6:30. RSVP here.

Tonight! A City That Works Happy Hour, featuring candidate Jesus Ayala, Jr. (7a), Monochrome Brewing, 2101 S. Carpenter, 5:30-7:30 p.m. RSVP here.

Thursday, Sept. 10: Fundraiser for Michelle Pierre (1b), Goldberg Kohn, 55 E. Monroe, 5:30-7:30 p.m. RSVP here.

Tuesday, Sept. 15: WTTW Presidential Candidates Forum, 5-6:30 p.m., 5400 N. St. Louis Ave. RSVP here. The forum will be televised live and available later on YouTube.

Tuesday, Sept. 15: Community Watch Party for the WTTW Forum, 4-7 p.m., Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. Refreshments and free parking will be available. RSVP here.

Thursday, Sept. 17: Candidate Forum for District 2B and 4A, 6:30 p.m., Furama Restaurant, 4936 N. Broadway. RSVP here.

Thursday, Sept. 17: Candidate forum for District 5B, sponsored by Chicago Westside Branch NAACP, Collins High School, 1313 S. Sacramento, Doors 5:30; forum 6 p.m. RSVP here.

Saturday, Sept. 19: District Candidates Forum, sponsored by the Chicago Public Education Fund, Kids First Chicago, and the Chicago Education Alliance, 10:30 a.m., Intentional Sports, 1841 N. Laramie Ave. RSVP here.

Tuesday, Sept. 29: District 5a/5b Candidates Forum, sponsored by Noble Schools, Doors 5:30; forum 6 p.m., Chicago Bulls College Prep, 2040 W. Adams St. RSVP here.

Tuesday, Sept. 29: School Board President Candidate Forum, sponsored by the 30th, 35th, 38th and 45th Ward Dems, 6:30-8 p.m., Copernicus Center Annex, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave. No RSVP required.

Wednesday, Sept. 30, District 3 Community Forum, including all candidates running in Districts 3A and 3B, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Pritzker College Prep, 4131 W. Cortland St. RSVP via QR code here.