{"id":47035,"date":"2016-11-29T13:43:40","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T19:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=47035"},"modified":"2016-11-29T13:43:40","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T19:43:40","slug":"parents-teachers-call-cps-special-education-budget-an-atrocity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/parents-teachers-call-cps-special-education-budget-an-atrocity\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents, teachers call CPS special education budget an \u2018atrocity\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen<\/strong><\/p>\n

After several public hearings, two budget drafts and a threatened teachers strike, some parents and teachers say the Chicago Public Schools budget still fails to protect the safety and well-being of special education students.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents who need one-on-one assistance for feeding and changing, and extreme behavior problems have no one,\u201d said Sarah Chambers, a special education teacher at Saucedo Academy in Little Village. \u201cMy school has students with seizures and only has one nurse two days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Special education funding dominated a pair of budget hearings Monday on the district\u2019s amended budget.<\/a> The operating budget is now up to $5.5 billion thanks to an infusion of cash from $55 million in tax increment financing. Most of the additional money \u00a0is earmarked for teacher pay raises, a sore spot that almost led to a strike <\/a>in October.<\/p>\n

But some special education teachers and parents say changes to how special education money is distributed means their funding is no longer transparent and accused CPS officials of actually underfunding those programs. The confusion arose when general education and special education money was lumped together, which some argue pits general and special education students against one\u00a0another.<\/p>\n

Some teachers also say they\u2019re being overworked, as roughly 14 percent<\/a> of CPS students require an individual education plan (IEP), a document crafted with teachers, parents and administrators that caters to specific educational needs by outlining classroom goals.<\/p>\n

Christopher Egan, a 30-year special education teacher at Saucedo Academy, said he works on a temporary basis \u201ceven though there are hundreds of vacancies\u201d across the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do more than a full load,\u201d Egan said. \u201cIn fact, everyone in our special ed department is overwhelmed by our workload.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers said one of the reasons special ed teachers are so overworked is that in a city plagued by violence, a shortage of support staff like social workers leaves many students suffering from trauma in need. Both Chambers and Egan said the amount of paperwork required to apply for extra special education resources is burdensome.<\/p>\n

But officials argue the district has made reforms this year to ensure special education students get their fair share, like requiring principals to pay for IEPs before general education.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery school funds special education first and schedules it first,\u201d said CPS CEO Forrest Claypool. \u201cEvery IEP is fully funded before a single dollar goes into general education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claypool and board President Frank Clark urged teachers to report any special education students who they feel aren\u2019t being fairly served by the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve got a case or cases that you can give us names or specific areas where someone is not being funded appropriately, that\u2019s what you need to do and we\u2019ll address it immediately,\u201d Clark said. \u201cYou don\u2019t believe what you\u2019re hearing, I accept that. That doesn’t mean that you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

But teachers and parents pushed back, saying they understand what they\u2019re seeing on the ground in their schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think special education funding is the biggest atrocity this year by far,\u201d Chambers said. She says the district needs to tap into more TIF money and tax financial transactions to fill the gap.<\/p>\n

Chambers insists students aren\u2019t getting the basics, and that could mean trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to have a massive lawsuit,\u201d Chambers said.<\/p>\n

Parents and teachers wait to speak before the Chicago Board of Education on Monday night. (Emily Olsen \/ MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen After several public hearings, two budget drafts and a threatened teachers strike, some parents and teachers say the Chicago Public Schools budget still fails to protect the safety and well-being of special education students. \u201cStudents who need one-on-one assistance for feeding and changing, and extreme behavior problems have no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":47037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2941,675],"tags":[269,270,3427,1181,3428,3426,2957],"class_list":["post-47035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2016","category-social-justice","tag-chicago-board-of-education","tag-chicago-public-schools","tag-chicago-public-schools-budget","tag-cps","tag-cps-budget","tag-special-ed","tag-special-education"],"yoast_head":"\nParents, teachers call CPS special education budget an \u2018atrocity\u2019 - 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