Rauner, Smith & Meeks: Killing Special Ed in IL

Rauner's  hand-picked State Supt. Tony Smith called the board's move, "basically the most equitable way of distribution we've got."

The center-piece of Gov. Rauner's divisive, winners-and-losers plan for funding Chicago Public Schools operations is to divert millions from the state's (mostly suburban district's) special education fund.

The State Board, headed by Pres. James Meeks, consists of nine Rauner appointees.

Rauner and Meeks

The Tribune reports:

The Illinois State Board of Education is proposing to take $305 million from an account designated for special education services and give that money to districts next school year for general expenses that may have nothing or little to do with kids with disabilities.

 Even without this source of funding for special education, districts would be expected to continue covering those costs as required by law.

 "The state is in a budget crisis — I understand that. But it is crazy to put that on the backs of children with disabilities," says Beverly Holden Johns, who is active in several special education organizations in Illinois. She questions the legality of the state board's proposal.

So do I.

It's also a way to pit the state's poorer urban school districts against wealthier suburban ones rather than adequately and equitably fund both.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Rahm Emanuel attends a 2011 fundraiser at the Chicago home of Rajiv Fernando, the CEO of Chopper Trading, a firm that has donated to Emanuel and ultimately benefited. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune)

Rahm is vulnerable

 "It's easy to see he's vulnerable by the amount he's raising that is absolutely obscene by any standard," said two-term Alderman Bob Fioretti, a frequent voice of dissent on a City Council that often backs the mayor's ideas. -- AP

CTU Pres. Karen Lewis

“We've had 25 years of this mayoral control and it's not working,” CTU President Karen Lewis says, noting that a union poll last year said 65 percent of Chicagoans favor an elected school board. -- Crain's

Meeks: Test or else

PARCC or else

“Therefore, we are directing you to administer the PARCC assessment to all students. If any district does not test, ISBE will withhold its Title I funds. We will also seek to recoup the state funds spent on any test booklets unused by the district, as well as any restocking fees charged to ISBE by our testing vendor.” -- ISBE Chairman Rev. Meeks and State Supt. Koch,  Sun-Times

Sugata Mitra

"We need a pedagogy free from fear..." -- TED