Advocates and parents in Chicago say students with disabilities are still being denied needed services, even though a state monitor is now overseeing the public school system’s special education program.
They submitted a letter Tuesday to newly appointed Illinois State Board of Education members calling out the state monitor for not doing more to force improvement. Among other things, they say the state monitor has not offered enough trainings for teachers and parents and is not collecting the information needed to devise an improvement plan.
The advocates say they are especially disappointed that more has not been done to repair damage to students who were denied services. A state investigation found that a Chicago Public Schools overhaul of special education resulted in illegal denials of services to students.
Advocates say that in order to accomplish all that needs to be done, the state monitor needs to hire additional staff.