CPS students denied special education services amid 'cycle of chaos,' parents say
CHICAGO - Students with special needs in Chicago scored a major victory last month when the state Board of Education ordered dramatic changes in the way Chicago Public Schools offers special-education services to students.
After emotional testimony from parents, teachers and advocates across Chicago during the Illinois State Board of Education's first-ever public inquiry, the state found CPS to be in violation of multiple state and federal special-education laws - from requiring overly complicated forms that shut out many qualifying students simply because of paperwork problems, to denying transportation citing arbitrary reasons, to failing to get struggling or students with mental illness into therapeutic schools during crises.
In announcing the corrective recommendations May 16, the state board promised to appoint - and pay for - a special monitor to work with CPS over the next three years. State school officials have also recommended that CPS work with them to identify students whose services were delayed or denied in recent years, so their parents or guardians may pursue corrective action.
As the school year draws to a close, state officials are still in the process of hiring the monitor and hope to have one in place by August, said ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews. In the meantime, advocates say that most of the same problems that led to the inquiry
