This Week in Ed 9.29.17: Board of Ed meeting, Backpack Full of Cash, and more

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Parent testimonies from the unelected BOE meeting this week

Jennie Biggs testified for RYH and informed the Board that RYH filed a complaint with the Attorney General because CPS is out of compliance with sharing space utilization data, which is over 260 days late. Frank Clark claimed that this delay is due to an “audit” and that the data will be posted at the end of December, a full year late. Jennie also spoke about the changes to the school quality rating policy that the Board voted on this week.

Mary Hughes, Director of 19th Ward for Special Education and RYH Board member spoke about the need for changes to special education policies.

You can read their testimonies here.

CPS to hold schools harmless but won’t say how

CPS said this week that they won’t further cut schools based on 20th day enrollment numbers, but there will be some cuts based on federal and state aid. Keep in mind, many schools were cut this summer and CPS has made hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts over the past few years.

Sun-Times: CPS to hold school budgets harmless but won’t say how

Here’s just one example of a school that’s been hit with budget cuts in Austin. Leland was a thriving school before it became a “relocating welcoming school” in the mass closings of 2013, when CPS closed Armstrong and May into Leland and moved Leland into May’s former building.

Austin Talks: Austin’s Leland Elementary seeks community support in face of 10 percent funding cut

CPS is looking for LSC trainers

CPS will train external partners to be LSC trainers. If you are interested in getting the certification to be a LSC trainer, either representing an external partner organization OR as an individual unaffiliated with any organization, please see this document for information including how to RSVP for an orientation coming up this Monday, October 2.

Directory information opt-out deadline 10/1

Federal and state law and CPS policy allow the district and schools to share some personally-identifiable information about students with third-party organizations. This is called "directory information" and includes: student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and academic awards, dates of attendance and information concerning school-sponsored activities, organizations, and athletics.

If you do not wish for this information to be shared, the CPS Student Code of Conduct (p. 53) says to notify your child’s school main office by October 1st that you are opting out of this sharing of directory information in writing and include the student's name, ID number and school.

The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have an opt out form you can use here, along with more details about directory information sharing. (Your school may have provided a form as part of the paperwork distributed at the start of the school year.)