Conservative group challenges Chicago's Black Student Success Plan one day after its release

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Chicago Releases Black Student Success Plan Amid Backlash Against Race-Based Initiatives

Its release during Black History Month is part of CPS’s broader five-year strategic plan and aims to address long-standing disparities in graduation, discipline and other metrics faced by Black students.

blockclubchicago.org

2/20/25




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Parents Defending Education challenges Chicago district’s Black Student Success Plan as discriminatory​

02/22/25

A student reads at Chicago's Gary Comer Middle School in 2023...

An out-of-state advocacy group filed a federal antidiscrimination complaint challenging Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan the day after the district released its long-awaited blueprint.

Parents Defending Education, which has challenged race-based initiatives and the teaching of topics involving race and gender in schools, submitted a complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, asking it to block the five-year plan’s implementation. It invoked the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the use of race as a factor in college admissions, and a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights late last week warning school districts to halt any race-based initiatives or risk losing federal funding.

District leaders in Chicago said they would review and respond to the complaint.. CPS officials have previously said the plan is essential in addressing longstanding disparities in achievement, graduation, discipline, and other outcomes for its Black students.

The plan sets goals to increase the number of Black teachers, reduce Black student suspensions, provide more professional development for all educators, and ensure that Black history is taught in more classrooms, among other steps.

The plan’s release collides with an aggressive push by the Trump administration to root out diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The administration argued in its Dear Colleague letter that even using income and other non-racial factors in education initiatives runs afoul of the Supreme Court’s admissions decision — a claim some legal experts deem a major stretch.

In a letter to families Friday, district CEO Pedro Martinez did not specifically refer to the Black student plan but said that CPS will stay the course amid Trump administration changes and threats of withholding funding, including when it comes to teaching students’ cultures and history in the classroom.

“We will stay true to our values and our mission — to provide all students with a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience that affirms and celebrates their identities,” Martinez wrote

 

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The same group challenged a program in L.A.

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/l-a-school-districts-black-student-achievement-program-upended-after-challenge-from-conservative-group.1057767/

 

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Illinois schools continuing DEI initiatives despite federal funding threats​

02/26/25

Illinois Superintendent Tony Sanders participates in a previous Illinois State Board of Education meeting

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education is not telling schools to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion lessons or programs, the state’s education chief told a House committee this week, even as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from schools that don’t stop.

State Superintendent Tony Sanders informed the panel that ISBE received a “dear colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month informing schools that “under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.” It said compliance with federal discrimination laws will be reviewed by the department by the end of February as a condition of federal funding

The letter has no legal force, Sanders said Tuesday, “and so I would encourage districts to continue … teaching the way they’ve always taught.”

Sanders acknowledged that roughly 10% of funding for Illinois school districts could be at risk if the federal government ceases funding. ISBE receives billions annually from the federal government.

“We don’t have a way to make up for that loss of funds,” he said.

Prompted by lawmakers to explain what equity means in Illinois schools, Sanders said it means making sure all students have the resources they personally need for their individual success. ISBE’s lineup of initiatives designed to uplift a greater variety of students and educators include special education programs, efforts to recruit more minority teachers and mechanisms to improve grades for students of color.

The data shows incorporating DEI is necessary, he said, pointing to the 2024 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

The results showed significant achievement gaps among different subgroups of students in Illinois. In fourth grade math, for example, there was a 32-point gap between the average score for white and Black students. Eighth grade math assessments had a similar 32-point gap.

Even so, the committee’s ranking Republican debated the importance of initiatives designed to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Maybe we should start focusing on excellence a little bit more,” Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, said. “We have a great equity center and focus right now and I think it’s led to some of these dismal results. I think if we focus more on the specifics of reading and writing and math, it would stand to reason that those scores could come up.”

Sanders responded by saying incorporating DEI isn’t changing classroom curriculum.



“What you see in the curriculum are high levels of quality instruction across the state,” Sanders said. “Again, there’s always room for improvement but all I see is teachers trying to meet the needs of their students.”

 

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CPS Black Student Success Plan Lawsuit

Feb 26, 2025

Just days after Chicago Public Schools released its long awaited black student success plan, an out-of-state advocacy group filed a lawsuit to stop it. Mila Koumpilova, Senior Reporter with Chalkbeat joins WGN's Micah Materre for live analysis of this legal challenge

 

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CPS Black Student Success Plan Lawsuit

Feb 26, 2025

Just days after Chicago Public Schools released its long awaited black student success plan, an out-of-state advocacy group filed a lawsuit to stop it. Mila Koumpilova, Senior Reporter with Chalkbeat joins WGN's Micah Materre for live analysis of this legal challenge

I guess these are the the Tangibles Bothsiders talked about.