The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation into an allegation that Chicago Public Schools’ “Black Student Success Plan” discriminates against students of other races.
A group called Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against the new achievement program, claiming Chicago Public Schools has acknowledged that students of all races are struggling academically.
“[Chicago Public Schools] seeks to allocate additional resources to favored students on the basis of race,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement. “The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow federal funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this pernicious and unlawful manner.”
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Parents Defending Education describes itself on its website as a grassroots organization that fights indoctrination and is “working to restore schools at all levels from activists imposing harmful agendas.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said in a statement that the Black Student Success Plan addresses “the man-made educational achievement gap” created by disinvestment in certain neighborhood schools.
“Rather than using the Department to create opportunities for students, Trump and McMahon appear determined to transform it into a debt collection agency and a vehicle to dismantle the civil rights protections that support students and their families,” Gates said.
This latest investigation comes as the Trump administration seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from K12 and higher education—from curricula to after-school activities to operations. The Education Department had threatened to withhold federal funding if schools didn’t end their initiatives by April 24.
About a dozen states announced their schools would not comply with the directive. Last week, multiple judges blocked the administration, ruling its actions constituted unlawful censorship and violated schools’ First Amendment free speech protections.
