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. 

After a temporary CPS employee was fired, she downloaded a database containing names, employee ID numbers, phone numbers, addresses, birth dates, criminal histories and any records associating individuals with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Parents who were in the process of the CPS background check and school volunteer approval process and many CPS employees are saying they received an email last night from CPS indicating their data was downloaded by the former employee.

CBS 2: Fired CPS Employee Steals Personal Data Of 70,000 People, Charged With Multiple Felonies

#cpsuccess! We are still retweeting away at @CPSuccessChi. Please tag us in your #cpsuccess tweets and use that hashtag! (Note the clever spelling.) Some recent & amazing #cpsuccess stories chosen randomly from our Twitter feed:

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!

The CPS unelected Board of Ed met on Wednesday, September 26, 2018. Raise Your Hand was there, speaking and live tweeting. You can read prepared statements below. 

You can find a playlist of 3 videos from the meeting here: Mary Hughes on special education issues, Wendy Katten on nursing issues, and Liz Keenan's (ODLSS Chief) response to the statements. 

RYH live tweet thread links: Four new charter schools looking to open in 2019-20, 45 minute data presentation- CPS slides, Alderman Dowell, King, Daley Thompson and Solis speak in support of the new boundaries for the new South Loop HS, and public comment thread.

There are many, many reasons to join us at our annual fundraiser, Raise a Glass for RYH Here are the Top 5 Reasons: