‘All races struggle’: Chicago public schools hit with investigation over alleged racial discrimination

The Department of Education (ED) opened an investigation into Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Tuesday over allegations that the district is violating civil rights by hosting programs that discriminate based on race.

The investigation stems from a complaint filed by the educational grassroots organization Defending Education (DE) about a “Black Students Success Plan” hosted by CPS, which focuses “on remedial measures only for black students, despite acknowledging that Chicago students of all races struggle academically,” according to the ED’s press release.

“Chicago Public Schools have a record of academic failure, leaving students from all backgrounds and races struggling and ill-prepared to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of contemporary American life,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the ED, said in a statement. “Rather than address its record honestly, CPS seeks to allocate additional resources to favored students on the basis of race. The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow federal funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this pernicious and unlawful manner.”

ED sent a directive to state education chiefs in February, reminding them that they are bound by civil rights laws and cannot make admission or hiring decisions or host exclusionary programs based on race. However, several states and schools have been resistant to the administration’s efforts to root out DEI programs.

Shortly after ED sent the April 3 memo, Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson threatened to sue the Trump administration if it attempted to cut the $1.3 billion in federal funding it received for the current academic year, saying, “It’s unconstitutional to disrupt freedom of speech.” The federal funding accounts for roughly 16% of the district’s annual budget.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) further sent a letter to ED arguing that the state has already certified its Title VI compliance and claiming that the administration’s directive was “unclear” as to which programs it seeks to regulate. “Although the letter references ‘certain DEI practices’ or ‘illegal DEI,’ it does not define it, and there are no federal or State laws prohibiting diversity, equity, or inclusion,” ISBE’s letter states.

“No student should be denied an educational opportunity because of the color of their skin, yet perversely, that’s exactly what Chicago Public Schools has chosen to do – despite the fact that the district’s own data clearly demonstrates that students of all races are struggling academically,” Nicole Neily, president and founder of DE, said in ED’s announcement. “Amid abysmal proficiency rates, discipline crises, and a nearly $10 billion budget deficit, district leaders made a conscious decision to allocate finite resources to some students and not others – and we are grateful that the Department of Education has opened an investigation into this injustice.”

CPS still maintains an “Office of Equity,” which includes a DEI resource guide aiming to “assist school teams in their DEI planning.” Some of the resources listed provide information on “improv[ing] diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training and hiring practices in schools.”

CPS declined to respond to Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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