RESTORE SPECIAL EDUCATION AND CLINICIAN SERVICES!

This year, CPS has made drastic cuts to special education hurting our students with disabilities. CPS also wrote a new procedure manual that is creating major obstacles to providing our students the special education services that they need. Here’s what Rahm and Claypool are doing to Special Education and clinicians:

• Rahm and CPS are breaking special education law: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• CPS is illegally and broadly cutting special education classroom assistants and busing services across the city without evaluating individual student needs.
• There are not enough clinicians to cover all of the students’ needs and IEP minutes.
• These cuts hurt our students with disabilities academically, emotionally and physically, which is causing major safety concerns for our students.
• Members of the Board of Ed actually spoke out against the tens of millions of dollars in TIF money that CTU members and allies just won for CPS. They avoid advocating for the funding our schools need and asking their wealthy friends to pay their share, instead choosing to balance CPS budgets on the backs of our most vulnerable students.

The Board must:

• Fully fund special education and clinicians services. Restore the special education and clinician budgets.
• Remove obstacles to students receiving all of their special education services.
• Hire enough clinicians to meet the recommended clinician to student ratios recommended by state clinician association (see attached flyer for ratios). In a city filled with violence and poverty, we need more clinicians to support students with trauma.

Join us in fighting to save special education and clinician services!! Don't allow mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Claypool to cut special education services to save money off the backs of our students with disabilities!