For the first time ever, Chicago voters will choose who sits on the Board of Education

 

October 18, 2024 | by Emma Olson

How do Candidates Intend to Support Students with Disabilities?

Hear from Candidates on Disability Issues in Chicago’s Historic School Board Election  

For the first time ever, Chicago voters will directly choose who sits on the Board of Education. This election is a pivotal moment, especially for those of us who care deeply about the future of students with disabilities in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).  

Access Living partnered with the Legal Council for Health Justice to craft a candidate questionnaire. The goals of this questionnaire are: 

  1. To assess candidates’ understanding of CPS’s checkered past when it comes to protecting the rights of students with disabilities. 
  1. To give candidates an opportunity to share their plans for addressing the most pressing issues CPS currently faces in the areas of equity and accessibility.  

The questions discuss: the lack of building accessibility, transportation issues, access to transition/career training programs, and an uptick in the use of segregated “cluster” classrooms in CPS.  

If disability or special education issues are important to you, we encourage you to read the candidate responses before voting in the first ever Chicago School Board election this November. 

Early voting in Chicago has already begun at the Supersites; early voting in every ward opens on Monday, October 21. 

You can find the responses on our website at THIS LINK. 

What am I voting for? 

There are 10 board seats up for grabs in this election with 1 seat awarded from each of 10 districts. Therefore, you can vote for ONE candidate running to represent the neighborhood you live in. To see what district you live in, and what candidates are running there, check THIS MAP or look up your address at the Chicago Board of Elections Website.   

We reached out to all candidates in the school board election. By the time of the deadline, 22 candidates have submitted responses. If we receive additional responses before election day, they will be added to our website as well. Candidate responses are unedited (they are posted exactly as we received them).  

If you have any questions about the questionnaire or candidate responses, please reach out to Access Living’s Education Policy Analyst, Frank Lally (flally@accessliving.org).