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Selective enrollment
The teachers union propelled Johnson to City Hall with an education platform promising more funding and staff at neighborhood schools, housing for homeless students, and free public transit passes.
Proposed legislation would also block the current school board from changing admissions policies at selective enrollment schools.
The plan — which will be finalized this summer — will prioritize improving students’ daily experiences in the classroom, addressing staffing and funding, and collaborating more closely with school communities.
Two bills filed in Springfield would let local school councils decide whether to keep school resource officers and would halt major changes to selective-enrollment schools.
Students were assessed based on test scores, grades, school rankings, and their neighborhood’s socioeconomics in the CPS high school enrollment process.
Chicago’s school board could shift away from school choice. Here are three things to know.
A letter sent to parents said the district would continue to prioritize students with disabilities and homeless students. Both groups are entitled to transportation under federal law.
How much the district will try to change the city’s school choice system will depend on community feedback.
The move puts in motion Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign promise to reinvigorate neighborhood schools.
The district is still working to shorten bus rides for more than 100 students with disabilities to comply with state law.
The admissions process has built up a reputation for being stressful on families, but many value the ability to choose a school they see as the best fit for their child.
Eighth graders enrolled at district schools will take the test Oct. 24 or 25. Non-district students must sign up again to take the exam Oct. 28, Oct. 29, or Nov. 5.
District officials cited ongoing technical difficulties with the vendor’s testing platform. It’s not clear when students will be able to take the exam.
The district will reschedule the test for eighth-graders who couldn’t finish.
Message to parents: ‘You don’t have to come back and keep asking.’
Families use the application for entry to a variety of schools, including selective test-in schools and neighborhood schools outside of their attendance boundaries.
Blaming a driver shortage, the district decided this year to limit bus transportation to students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.
District officials said 47 students with disabilities have bus rides longer than an hour. It’s a steep decline from last year when more than 3,000 had hour-plus commutes.
Applications for next school year are due Thursday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. Students can apply for magnet, gifted, selective enrollment, charter, and neighborhood schools through the GoCPS portal. Offers will be made in the spring.
Chicago also said it will promote all elementary students to the next grade in the fall and again suspend any update to its controversial school ratings.