A parents group is urging the Trump administration to investigate the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over its recently implemented "Black Student Success Plan," which focuses exclusively on improving outcomes for Black students. The organization, Parents Defending Education, filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education on Friday, asserting that the plan may violate federal civil rights laws and the Fourteenth Amendment.
The "Black Student Success Plan" was developed with input from CPS’s diversity, equity, and inclusion staff, including Chief Equity Officer Fatima Cooke. According to the plan’s developers, CPS has recognized a critical need to enhance educational opportunities for Black students, as significant achievement gaps persist. They emphasized the importance of a comprehensive strategy aimed at closing these gaps and noted the lack of Black educators in the district as a contributing factor to the challenges faced by Black students.
However, Parents Defending Education argues that the plan’s focus on one racial group is problematic, particularly since data suggests that students of other races, including Hispanic students, are also struggling academically. Nicole Neily, president of the organization, criticized the plan for its perceived racial segregation, stating that CPS is failing students across all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In her view, this makes the targeted program even more concerning.
Neily pointed out that the plan likely contravenes Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits federal funding for programs that discriminate based on race. She referenced recent guidance from the Department of Education, which advised schools against implementing racially-based programs. The guidance explicitly states that educational institutions should not segregate students based on race or allocate benefits or burdens according to race.
In light of these concerns, Neily has called for a thorough Title VI audit of CPS to investigate any other racially-based policies that may exist within the district. Parents Defending Education has previously succeeded in challenging a similar initiative in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which had to revise its "Black Student Achievement Plan" to ensure it was inclusive of all races.
This complaint comes on the heels of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, aimed at eliminating "anti-American ideologies" from public schools and cutting federal funding for programs perceived as promoting leftist views. The ongoing debate around educational equity and the methods used to address disparities continues to raise questions about the balance between targeted support and compliance with civil rights laws.