Please join us tonight: Parent Training: Know Your Rights on 504 Plans vs. IEP Plans! Details and RSVP here.

On Friday, November 9, the IL State Board of Ed (ISBE) finally released a letter to CPS parents and staff regarding the ISBE investigation into CPS special education practices and policies. Many schools still haven't shared the ISBE letter, and it is not that parent friendly.

RYH volunteer, Terri Smith, wrote a great fact sheet explaining why the ISBE Inquiry happened and containing many relevant links. It is an improved version of the CPS letter that went out so that parents can actually understand what happened.

On Friday, November 16, 2018, the IL State Board of Education (ISBE) held a meeting in Chicago. You can find a thread of live tweets here and many more tweets on our Twitter page here. 

Below are two statements from parents: one is a Chicago parent speaking about the ISBE inquiry into CPS special education and the other is a Downers Grove mom speaking about the new ISBE school ratings system. 

This week’s RYH email newsletter brought to you by the letters S, Q, R, and P!

Important news for people concerned about the impact of high-stakes standardized testing on Illinois schools. There's not only a new state test this coming spring to replace PARCC, the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), but there's also a new state rating system for IL being rolled out later this month, and opt out rate may play a big role in your school’s rating.

Raise Your Hand had a second meeting with a group of parents, the head of Special Ed and the Chief Operating Officer to discuss major nursing compliance issues at the district. Many students are put in unsafe situations due to lack of coverage, untrained nurses from temp agencies, and lack of continuity of care.

Raise Your Hand's annual fundraiser, Raise a Glass for RYH, is this Tuesday!  Join us at Lagunitas Brewing Company on Tuesday, October 2, from 5:30 - 8:30pm.  Please buy your ticket in advance so we can plan ahead!

Why support RYH at our annual fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct 2, 5:30-8:30pm? A note from a CPS parent & member of our fundraiser committee:

Hello fellow public education supporter,

I have a photo from six years ago almost to the day: it's my family holding picket signs in the playground behind Ray School from when teachers went on strike over a longer school day and labor conditions. It reminds me of the school closing hearings, state budget fights, and assorted other CPS zaniness over the years. I believe Raise Your Hand keeps the people inside the Board of Ed building from going totally off the rails, which is one reason we helped plan a fundraiser to honor special education parents’ epic fight this past year and raise funds to support continued organizing on this issue and so many other issues on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

The Advocates have asked the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to require CPS to distribute the flyer below to CPS parents of students with special needs. Please share!

The state voted yesterday to appoint an independent monitor to oversee almost all aspects of CPS’ special education. Please read this entire email... We need you to Grow With Us for more wins in public education!