Illinois moves from 47th to 18th in the nation for state spending on public schools, new report says
The rise from 47th in the nation 15 years ago is “unprecedented” according to the advocacy organization Advance Illinois, which pushed for changes to the formula for years before it happened in 2017.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday the district should take legal action against the U.S. Department of Education for halting millions in previously awarded magnet school grants to the city’s schools.
The Illinois State Board of Education is holding public hearings to get input on the budget for the 2026-27 school year.
Yehiri Gonzalez is among the first cohort of the district’s Teach Chicago Tomorrow program to help graduates get teaching degrees. She started leading her own classroom this fall.
More than 24,000 kids transferred schools within CPS last school year. Chalkbeat Chicago is interested in hearing more about why students transfer.
Illinois moves from 47th to 18th in the nation for state spending on public schools, new report says
The rise from 47th in the nation 15 years ago is “unprecedented” according to the advocacy organization Advance Illinois, which pushed for changes to the formula for years before it happened in 2017.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday the district should take legal action against the U.S. Department of Education for halting millions in previously awarded magnet school grants to the city’s schools.
The Illinois State Board of Education is holding public hearings to get input on the budget for the 2026-27 school year.
Yehiri Gonzalez is among the first cohort of the district’s Teach Chicago Tomorrow program to help graduates get teaching degrees. She started leading her own classroom this fall.
More than 24,000 kids transferred schools within CPS last school year. Chalkbeat Chicago is interested in hearing more about why students transfer.
Many students and union officials asked the school board for help to prevent a possible midyear closure of the South Side high school.
Enrollment declined among most student groups, including Black and Hispanic students, as well as those learning English as a new language and those who live in temporary housing.
Illinois students’ math scores have remained lower than pre-pandemic scores. To fix that, the State Board of Education is putting together a numeracy plan to change how math is taught in schools.
The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it will not grant Chicago $5.8 million this year and $17.5 million in remaining years under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. CPS had two active magnet school grants that support six schools.
The search firm leading the hunt for Chicago’s next schools chief said more than 85 candidates applied. About 20 will soon interview with school board members and a source says interim CEO Macquline King is applying.
The overhaul is aimed at saving money and directing more money directly to schools. Some sources told Chalkbeat a new structure that aligns with Chicago’s school board electoral districts would replace the current network structure.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new law requiring school districts to provide information on Illinois ABLE accounts to students with 504 plans and young children in Early Intervention in 2026.
A letter sent by the school district’s acting general counsel called the U.S. Department of Education’s demands to roll back its Black Student Success Plan and overhaul policies related to transgender students “unreasonable and untenable.”
Chicago Board of Education members asked the district for answers by the next board meeting on Sept. 25.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights wrote to the district that it has found its Black Student Success Plan and a policy on gender identity are discriminatory.
A new 21-member, partly-elected school board has navigated most of its core functions: picking a leader, approving contracts, and balancing a budget. Interviews with more than a dozen elected and appointed members provide a window into how this experiment in Chicago democracy is going so far.
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The move comes two months after the school’s contract was renewed by the Chicago Board of Education and two years after it unveiled plans for a $22 million renovation.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating the initiative the district unveiled in February. But the school board member heading the committee tasked with overseeing the rollout says it will proceed.
The district is proposing changes that would require employees to give more notice before taking religious holidays and would include explicit language allowing the district to fire employees who are found abusing sick days.
Can a community-led initiative reverse declining student enrollment? Chicago is trying to transform three neighborhood schools with a $41-million investment instead of closing underenrolled campuses.
There are about 12,000 fewer students in CPS as of the 15th day of school, according to preliminary enrollment data analyzed by Chalkbeat.
The Trump administration has threatened to boost immigration enforcement in Chicago and deploy the National Guard to the city.
The U.S. Air Force deactivated the Chicago school's program for noncompliance on Aug. 11, one week before school started. CPS announced it would continue JROTC through the U.S. Army.
Before Thursday’s budget vote, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Chicago Public Schools officials tussled for weeks over whether the district should take out a high-cost loan for a pension payment.
In a potentially final bid to whip up support for its budget, CPS officials said the desire to reimburse the city for a much-debated pension payment and taking out a $200 million loan would result in cuts to schools and a credit downgrade for the district.
Mayor Brandon Johnson picked Ángel Vélez, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant and native Puerto Rican who lives in West Englewood, to represent neighborhoods from Canaryville to Auburn Gresham. He will be sworn in the same day the school board is set to take a pivotal budget vote ahead of a Friday deadline to get a spending plan in place.
The delayed placements come even as Chicago Public Schools has added more than 100 programs serving exclusively students with disabilities.
Experts say the district must improve its credit rating and deal with aging buildings.
The new law, signed Wednesday by Gov. JB Pritzker, also requires school districts to collect data on how many students have been referred to local law enforcement.
The new law, called Safe Schools for All, creates protections upheld in a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, which said all students are afforded access to a free and public education, regardless of immigration status.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and interim CPS CEO Macquline King rang the ceremonial first bell to mark the 2025-26 school year on the playground of Courtenay Language Arts Center.
From changes in enrollment to changes in the classroom, there are several things to watch for this school year.
The charter school was one of five the Chicago Board of Education voted to save and turn into a district-run school. But the school community worries about its future after the Archdiocese of Chicago put the building up for sale.
The Chicago Board of Education is split on the district’s budget proposal for next school year. A group of mostly appointed members has asked CPS to alter its proposal that it includes a much-debated pension payment and loan.
Chicago Public Schools unveiled a budget for the looming school year that closes a $734 million budget gap, though it relies on city tax dollars it hasn’t received yet.
The Illinois State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve new cut scores for the ACT, the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, and the Illinois Science Assessment. The changes will boost the percentage of students considered proficient — but will make comparisons to past years nearly impossible.