It’s almost CPS Spring Break! We have a bunch of stuff to share with you before CPS students are out of school for a week. Happy reading...

Earlier in 2019 we shared the exciting news about staffing transitions in RYH and RYHA as both organizations grow. Earlier this week Raise Your Hand began the search for our next Executive Director. Now we need your help.

The window for the IL Assessment of Readiness (IAR) opens Monday, March 11. Use this weekend to review our 2019 Toolkit for Standardized Testing and Opt Out to learn more about this “new” assessment and how you can #ChooseToRefuse #ZombiePARCC! 🧟 The three main resources are now translated into Spanish: Q & A, Notification Letter of Refusal (scroll to p. 2), and Refusal Cards- all three can be found in the Toolkit.

On February 26, 2019, Raise Your Hand and other members of the Advocates Group sent a letter to the IL State Board of Education (ISBE) prior to their meeting which included an update from the ISBE Monitor. It has been nine months since the ISBE public inquiry into CPS special education found that CPS delayed, denied, and withheld services to students with disabilities- and this continues.

Please read the letter below.

WBEZ: Chicago Special Ed Parents Say Students Still Being Denied Services

Be an informed voter! Chicago’s Municipal Election is Tuesday, February 26.

As we go through our exciting new RYH changes, we plan to send an email newsletter every other week. Please sign up to receive these newsletters here. You can read the one sent Friday, February 8, 2019, below. 

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

UPDATE: Now translated into Spanish: En Español (jpg 1, jpg 2); En Español(pdf).

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!