Special Education
Special education students in Chicago are disproportionately enrolled at low-performing high schools on the West and South Sides. These schools are overwhelmed and often unable to provide students with the services they need. Conversely, selective high schools are admitting relatively few special needs children despite mandates from the district and federal court to do so. In fact, such schools are attracting top performing students away from neighborhood schools, which are then left with a concentration of special education students. This fall, special education enrollment in CPS high schools ranges from 3 percent to 40 percent of incoming freshmen.
