Chicago Public Schools is swinging back at the U.S. Department of Education’s threat to yank a federal grant unless the school district abolishes its Black Student Success Plan and publicly declares it won’t let transgender students compete in sports or use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
CPS said on Friday it will not consider taking these steps “unless and until” the department provides due process and gives it 30 days to respond.
The school district responded Friday to a letter sent on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, giving it three days to take these steps or face losing a five-year, $15 million grant. The grant is to help four magnet cluster schools develop personalized learning programs.
While this is a small grant, considering CPS has a $10 billion budget, school district officials are likely worried this will be the first of other grants that will be in jeopardy. The cash-strapped school district is counting on about $1 billion from the federal government this year.
The Education Department did not respond to questions Friday about what its next steps will be.
In the letter, CPS’ General Counsel Elizabeth Barton took the federal government to task for only giving the school district 72 hours to respond and for threatening to pull these funds without due process. She asked for 30 more days to make the case that these policies don’t violate federal laws.
What’s more, she writes the Education Department is investigating these policies and has yet to issue findings. In April, the department announced it was investigating the Black Student Success Plan for potentially violating the federal Civil Rights Act by helping some students at the expense of others.
A separate investigation launched in March is looking into whether the district’s policies protecting transgender students violate Title IX.
CPS has not been notified those investigations are complete, Barton writes.
Barton notes the school district is filing a Freedom of Information request asking for information about the status of those investigations. By law, the federal government has 20 days to comply.
Barton’s letter accuses the Education Department of undertaking an unfair process but also defends these policies.
The letter points out that state law mandates the district “correct academic and opportunity gaps for Black students.” The committee that came up with the Black Student Success Plan was attempting to follow the state law by “developing strategies and recommendations,” as well as objectives “designed to bring about academic parity between Black children and their peers,” according to the letter.
Furthermore, CPS says the Education Department has not established the Black Student Success Plan is harming any students.
CPS also points out state law dictates the district’s policy of allowing students to participate in sports and use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity. According to the letter, the state guidance on complying with Illinois Human Rights Law calls for schools to allow transgender students access to facilities that correspond to their gender identity.
“These legally compliant policies and practices aim to protect our most vulnerable student population, which includes students who have been subjected to peer bullying, isolation, discrimination, and mental health crises,” it says. “These students experience higher rates of school refusal than their average peers and report higher rates of suicidal ideation.”