The Chicago Board of Education heard a required public reading on Thursday of an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) step‑3 sanctions letter for Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy, a charter school authorized by CPS, after repeated special‑education violations.

Josh Long, the district’s chief of students with disabilities, read ISBE’s timeline and findings. ISBE began investigating in July 2023 and documented violations in placement determinations, parent participation, IEP review and timelines, related services and qualified personnel. The agency found compensatory services overdue from the 2022–23 and 2023–24 school years and said some students had missed required speech and language services for multiple years.

"Under ISBE’s progressive enforcement framework, step‑3 requires the district to formally notify the board of continued noncompliance and to read this letter at a public meeting," Long said as he read the agency’s orders.

ISBE described multiple compliance gaps (missing annual IEP meetings, inadequate paraprofessional supports, class sizes exceeding special‑education limits and lack of specialized instruction). The agency estimated that during 2024–25 more than 100 students likely missed large amounts of required instruction or services.

As part of the step‑3 sanctions, ISBE ordered the district to require Instituto to provide documentation that the outstanding noncompliance areas have been corrected and to implement an oversight plan. Long said the district’s oversight measures will include biweekly check‑ins, monthly on‑site visits and monitoring of compensatory services, paraprofessional scheduling and annual IEP and reevaluation meeting scheduling.

Representatives from Instituto who spoke during public participation acknowledged the ISBE findings as historical and described rebuilding efforts after staff departures; a school social worker and a special‑education teacher said the school has been hiring and working with district partners to improve compliance. They invited the board and CEO to visit the school to see updated systems.

The board’s legal and charter oversight offices will coordinate required documentation with Instituto and ISBE and report back to the board as monitoring proceeds; questions related to the sanction were directed to the board office, per district staff.