News and Advocacy

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.

URGENT Member Update -- May 12, 2026

This morning, CPAA participated in the District’s budget briefing with other labor partners. We were disappointed to learn that approximately 120 assistant principal positions have been removed from foundational staffing in the upcoming budget.

Five Outstanding Students Earn AFSA’s 2026 Diann Woodard Scholarship

Five exceptional students are beginning their college journeys with support from the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), which has awarded them the 2026 Diann Woodard S

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.

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:

CPAA and Community Partners Prevail: ISBE to Launch Special Education Investigation

School Leaders:

As you know, CPAA and several advocacy organizations requested the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) intervene with the CPS Special Education program. ISBE has responded with anannouncement that they’ll investigate CPS’s special education practices.

Protecting Principals via the Initiative to Defend Effective Academic Leadership (IDEAL)

Dear School Leaders: