Judge Denies CTU Request To Keep 10 Schools Open
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 31, 2013 10:25PM
A Cook County judge denied a motion filed by the Chicago Teachers Union to keep 10 schools open for the coming school year based on hearing officers' reports recommending the schools remain open.
CTU filed the lawsuit in May, claiming Chicago Public Schools ignored the recommendations of the hearing officers—all of them retired federal or state judges. Judge Thomas R. Allen ruled the state Legislature never specified the hearing officers reports were binding.
CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett released a statement after the ruling.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. Today's ruling affirmed our belief that every child in every neighborhood in Chicago deserves access to a high quality education that prepares them to succeed in life. However, for too long that has not been the case and children in certain parts of the city have been without the resources and support that they need to succeed in the classroom. Though this process has not been without its pain, we stand committed to working with parents, educators and the community to ensure every child can live up to their potential.”
CTU President Karen Lewis also responded to the ruling.
“Today’s ruling is unfortunate because it allows for the radical experiment that is being conducted on a great number of Chicago’s children by the mayor’s office and the Board of Education to continue,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “Sadly, we can always count on CPS to use vagueness in the law to protect its actions in disenfranchising children and families,” Lewis said. “If the law isn’t clear, CPS will find that loophole and exploit it—to the detriment of the children and families it should trying to protect. “The district wrote the rules regarding the power given to the hearing officers, and when the officers’ decisions weren’t to their liking, CPS broke its own rules in overturning those decisions and voting to close 50 schools. Under the Illinois School Code, the officers’ ruling should have been final,” Lewis added. ”This unfortunate ruling basically upheld CPS going back on its own word and it does an injustice to the parents of these students.”
CTU did not rule out the possibility of appealing Allen’s ruling, but time is running out. Classes for the new school year begin Aug. 26. CTU also has two civil rights lawsuits on behalf of parents pending in federal court to halt the closings.