News and Advocacy

AP's Are Essential and the Fight Continues

As we continue to confront the devastating realities of the proposed SY26-27 school budgets, I want to remind every member that CPAA’s first and most urgent priority has been fighting to protect Assistant Principals as foundational positions in every school.

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Take Action -- Hold Our Elected Board Members Accountable

TAKE ACTION! Contact your elected school board members (listed by district in the table below) and remind them that YOUR CHILDREN and THEIR SCHOOLS MATTER.

APs ARE Foundational

If you need help balancing the books, ask the leaders who manage their own abysmal budgets every year; we continuously find solutions that aren’t this detrimental to our children.

CPAA Legislation Forces CPS to Abandon SBB for Special Ed and Return to Position-Based Budgeting

CPAA Special Education Bill Passes Illinois Senate 51-0

THE GOOD NEWS

A Video Tribute to Robert Croston

On Sunday, services were held for Robert Croston and our brother was laid to rest. His wife sent out a call for people to make short videos about Rob, and we responded with the video below. He left an immense legacy for us to uphold.

Respectfully,
Troy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DHsA25lvc&feature=emb_title

Two Days Left for Principals to Contribute to ISBE Special Education Inquiry

As you know, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is conducting an inquiry into special education policy at CPS. Last Friday at 1:46 PM, LIz Kirby, CPS Chief of School Strategy and Planning, sent the following email to principals encouraging them to cooperate with the inquiry by sending the attached flyer home with students.

ISBE Asks for CPAA Special Education Survey Data

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has begun its public inquiry into CPS special education policy.  The inquiry team will collect evidence and testimony on these issues and present its findings to the State Board in a final report. The findings will then be made available to the public.

The ISBE inquiry is focused on four key questions:

  1. Do CPS' documentation and data collection requirements result in unlawful denial or delay in the identification of eligibility or provision of special education and related services to students?

President LaRaviere Delivers Compelling Testimony on Special Education Before the Illinois House Education Committee

On Friday, CPAA testified before the Illinois House Education Committee as the Illinois General Assembly sought to hold CPS accountable for defunding your schools’ special education programs. Three of the points we drove home with our research are:

  1. CPS lumped special education and general education into a zero-sum funding competition with one another by insisting schools pay for special education services through cutting staff from the general education program.