Committee on Education and Child Development meeting, September 6, 2023
- When: Wed, Sep 6, 2023, 5:30 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Education and Child Development
- Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8928507/video/861753859
- Transcript: full text (18,083 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Education and Child Development, at its first meeting under Chair Jeanette B. Taylor, held a subject matter hearing with no votes on Chicago Public Schools resources. Nine public commenters spoke on topics including COVID precautions, students in temporary living situations, athletic facilities, newcomer students, delayed CPS payments to a therapeutic school provider, and the removal of Black principals, with several removed principals asking for hearings. CPS officials presented district demographics and school types, services for about 16,000 students in temporary living situations, enrollment of migrant and English learner students, staffing gains including more bilingual and special education teachers, and a bus driver shortage that has led the district to prioritize diverse learners and students in temporary living situations. Members asked about enrollment and transfers of migrant students, translation for non-Spanish speakers, transportation, budget impacts and preschool, and CPS agreed to send data and process details through the chair.
Topics: Chicago Public Schools, migrant students, students in temporary living situations, English learners, school transportation, bus driver shortage, teacher staffing, principal removals
Agenda items discussed
- 29:26 Subject matter hearing on Chicago Public Schools resources: discussed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Jeanette B. Taylor (chair): Opened the hearing by saying CPS, CTU, City Colleges, unions and the council have not worked together and need to start doing so. (7:10); Asked whether the CPS presentation had been distributed to members in advance. (37:18); Said a school in her ward turned away students because no one spoke Spanish and asked what support CPS gives schools receiving newcomers. (1:11:09)
- Peter Chico (alderperson): Citing his DCFS background, asked how CPS and DCFS coordinate to provide continuity for children who move frequently. (52:41)
- William E. Hall (alderperson): Asked whether resources such as Ventra cards and phones are available to all students facing housing challenges, not only newcomers. (55:49)
- Byron Sigcho-López (alderperson): Asked what funding is needed for bilingual staffing, trauma-informed practices and wraparound mental health support, calling the number of unhoused students unacceptable. (59:28); Raised ongoing transportation problems for CPS students and said the public transit system should do more to get students to school. (1:02:16)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Thanked CPS staff for responsiveness and asked what the unbudgeted impact of serving new arrivals has been on the CPS budget. (1:45:44)
- Angela Clay (alderperson): Said delays in the $500 monthly transportation reimbursement strain families and asked whether payments can arrive consistently each month. (2:03:32)
Exchanges between members
- 2:03:32 Alderperson Angela Clay thanked the chair for raising the transportation stipend and added concerns about reimbursement delays.