Activists and community members want clarity amid layoff announcements and budget analysis by Chicago Public Schools
July was Disability Pride Month. During the past month, Chicago disability advocates had been grappling with the potential impact that a $734 million Chicago Public Schools (CPS) budget shortfall could have on special education programming.
In early July, CPS announced changes in staff distribution and the layoff of special education professionals, including 677 class assistants, or SECAs, and 123 special education teachers.
The changes have left community members wondering how this shift will impact their schools–and if this decision is an indicator of future budget cuts to special education.
A spokesperson from CPS claimed the mass layoffs are unrelated to the deficit, but the timing of the decisions led advocates and families to believe these changes are budget-related. The staffing shift and layoffs happened at the same time CPS has been working to solve the nine-figure deficit that, according to a budget presentation by CPS, was partially driven by the “rising needs of required services for students with disabilities.”
“Stop saying that special education is a cost,” said Dulce Dominguez, whose 7-year-old son lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder, during a public hearing at Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School on July 19. A rousing applause followed her speech.
CPS announced in June that it will change how special education staff are assigned, which will mean fewer “automatically” assigned shared SECAs. Officials, including Interim CPS Superintendent/CEO Macquline King, said the move had nothing to do with the budget crisis but was aimed at fostering a more equitable distribution of professionals across the city and avoiding an excessive number of adults inside the classrooms.
“I want to be clear,” King said during a Chicago Board of Education meeting on July 24. “Every child who has a one-on-one aide per their IEP [Individualized Education Program] will not be cut.” She added that if a student’s IEP says they need shared or individualized support from a paraprofessional, “they will get that support.”
After the July 11 layoff announcement, CPS held five community feedback sessions to obtain input about priorities and ways to fix the current deficit. According to an updated budget presentation during the July 24 board meeting, 68% of the discussion tables in the feedback sessions named services for students with disabilities as a priority.
In the meeting held in Back of the Yards on July 19, a teacher expressed concerns that the school where he worked would lose half of its SECAs. Another teacher, a former SECA, said special education needs stability and that it is “not the place” for cuts.
West Side special education teacher Benjamin Brandwein, also in attendance, defended long-term, “no-cut” solutions for the budget gap. Brandwein said cuts should come “from the top first before we feel it within our communities.”
At the same meeting, one parent expressed concerns about how eventual budget cuts could impact life for students like her daughter, a Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School alum who lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She hopes the money stays in the classrooms with the children, and added that “we shouldn’t be begging for something that’s right.”
Advocates present at the July 24 board meeting expressed similar concerns, despite reassurances by King.
At least five professionals connected to special education made public comments criticizing the SECAs’ reduction and potential future cuts.
In a testimony before the CPS Board of Ed, Trumaine Reeves, SEIU Local 73 CPS Division Director, said the layoff of more than 600 SECAs was an “abrupt decision,” and asked the board to consider cancelling it and holding new meetings to discuss staffing issues before making a new decision. Board of Education member Aaron “Jitu” Brown said later in the meeting that he would like to discuss the issue with other board members.
Sylvia Barragan, a spokesperson for CPS, told The Chicago Reporter during an interview that CPS plans to rehire about 80% of the 677 SECAs and 123 special education teachers who were laid off. She added that the move will offer the opportunity for a better distribution of special education professionals.
“Staff members who no longer have positions are more likely to apply for jobs at schools on the South or West sides, where vacancies have traditionally been harder to fill,” she told TCR in an email. “That helps create more equity by bringing professionals to the schools that need them most.”