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Parents and unions push back as CPS restructures special-education staffing
Summary
After district staffing changes and memos aligning classroom staffing to Illinois guidance, union leaders and advocates urged CPS to restore laid-off special-education classroom assistants (SECAs) and clarify plans; the interim superintendent said individual IEP services will be preserved.
Union leaders and parents pressed Chicago Public Schools on July 24 over recent reductions in special-education classroom support, saying rapid implementation and limited consultation have created confusion and distress in school communities.
After the board’s opening remarks, several union officials and dozens of public commenters raised alarms about the district’s decision to reduce hundreds of paraprofessional roles that support students with disabilities. “It was an abrupt decision to lay off over 600 SECAs, AKA special education classroom assistance,” Tremaine Reeves of SEIU Local 73 said during public participation.
Nut graf: CPS leaders and union representatives disagreed about why the staff reductions were implemented and whether the changes reflected federal or state legal requirements. Interim…
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