We, the undersigned, write with grave concern about the need for urgent action to ensure necessary improvements for immigrant students and families in Chicago to receive the language and social supports they need to thrive. Your deliberate and swift response will allow Chicago to live up to the welcoming sanctuary city that has been promised to our neighbors.

Our concerns derive from existing shortfalls in areas from language access, appropriate staffing, and learning supports that have only been made more challenging by Gov. Abbott's callous transfer policy now increasing the demand. The influx of immigrant families has intensified the equity gap that students in CPS already confront. Students and their families are experiencing inappropriate and insufficient bilingual education programs lacking native language resources, culturally relevant curriculum, and ESL/Bilingual endorsed staff in accordance with federal law. While all of these difficulties with bilingual education are of utmost importance to address, there are several basic components to assure the conditions that minimally facilitate compliance with federal mandates and ultimately foster ideal sanctuary practices in our schools to improve outcomes for students:

Issue and disseminate the sanctuary letter immediately. The 2019 CTU/CPS bargaining agreement includes contract language declaring that schools are sanctuary spaces. Three years after that agreement was finalized, CPS has yet to complete and approve the joint letter required to implement these sanctuary provisions.

Fully staff schools with teachers with appropriate bilingual education endorsements, and hire and assign bilingual teacher aides to schools that are experiencing increasing enrollment of immigrant students. The State of Illinois has increased funding for EL supports over the last several years, and the district should make it a priority to get those supports to students.

The district must continue to allow educators to interpret IEP meetings for the remainder of the school year in order to provide appropriate services. Moreover, the Interpretation Certification Program, which provides a pathway for educators to become certified interpreters, should be offered on a rolling basis through the 2023-24 school year and IEP meeting participants should also be allowed to hold dual roles in IEP meetings (i.e. interpreter and special education teacher) until the board provides a dedicated interpreter position in every school.

To provide stability and predictability in staffing, CPS should prioritize a Bilingual Education pipeline that incentivizes individuals coming into a primarily female educator workforce with benefits recently implemented at the City: enhanced maternity leave benefits, pay, and support for a successful long term career. These benefits foster retention which is sorely needed in schools given the high turnover rates with educators.

To assist in the integration of new immigrants, the City of Chicago should declare an emergency related to asylum seekers and other immigrants to access federal COVID pandemic relief funds for support services.

It is clear the current immigration crisis has only exacerbated the existing homelessness crisis our city faces and any housing support for immigrant families should also be extended to the existing 65,000 Chicagoans who are homeless and need housing now.

Many newcomers and their families have experienced the kind of trauma and violence that is regrettably all too familiar to a typical young person in Chicago. Our youth and families desperately need access to wrap-around services and supports – including mental health and social emotional supports both inside the school building and in our communities via mental health clinics.

The Chicago Public Schools should immediately apply and seek funding through The Refugee School Impact (RSI) as a Refugee Support Services (RSS) program, funding that supports special programs, after school programming and interpretation services, just to name a few. The CPS has not applied for this grant in three (3) years. This program could have served as a safety net and provided infrastructure to the growing number of immigrant students.

We look forward to your timely response to these issues and the needs of the students and families you serve every day.