Committee on Education and Child Development
October 5, 2016 City Council Meeting
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Chicago boasts a diverse array of thriving and rich immigrant communities, with families from more than 140 countries and more than 100 languages spoken in our public schools;
WHEREAS, 17.6 percent of enrolled Chicago Public School (CPS) students are English Learners (ELs) - the highest percentage in the state; which, according to the CPS Policy Manual, means that the English speaking, reading, writing, or understanding of 392,285 students may be insufficient to allow them the ability to: (a) successfully achieve in classrooms where the language instruction is in English; (b) participate fully in the school setting, or (c) meet the State's proficient level of achievement on state assessments;1
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago reaffirmed its commitment to serve as a sanctuary city and protect the rights of immigrants when it adopted the Welcoming City Ordinance in 2012;
WHEREAS, there has been an increase in xenophobic (anti-immigrant and refugee) and Islamophobic rhetoric nationally, targeting Arab Americans, Middle Easterners, South Asians, Muslims, refugees, and undocumented immigrants, including Governor Rauner's announcement of his intent to ban Syrian refugees, and;
WHEREAS, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders issued a report in 2016 stating that English Language Learner students were less likely to report experiences of bullying based on language barriers;
WHEREAS, a 2009 study by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education discovered that Asian American Pacific Islander youth are the most frequent targets of bullying in schools, with 54% of Asian American teenagers reporting experiencing bullying in the
: Chicago Public Schools. (2016). Bilingual Education Policy, Section 603.1. Retrieved from http://policy.cps.edu/download. aspx?ID=12
classroom, and a study by the Bay Area Sikh Coalition determined that 74 percent of turbaned Sikh boys in school suffer-biased-based harassment;
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago previously condemned acts of xenophobia, racism, anti-religious hate rhetoric, and violence in a resolution following the Oak Creek Massacre;
WHEREAS, the Rauner administration has eliminated the Immigrant Services Line Item (ISLI) among other essential services, which has terminated access to translation and interpretation supports for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and families;
WHEREAS, EL students often serve as language brokers and bread winners for their family members, taking on an added responsibility and pressure beyond the difficulties of being immigrants and refugees themselves;
WHEREAS, EL students must assume adult roles and responsibilities in their schools and in their families, as they are often required to translate sensitive personal and financial information as well as government forms and legal documents for their parents;
WHEREAS, a recent audit of CPS schools found that a majority of CPS schools have not fully implemented sufficient services for EL students required by state and federal standards, thereby resulting in an inequitable schooling experience for LEP students and their parents;
WHEREAS, EL students are being pulled from their own classes in violation of school policy to provide language interpretation and translation services for other LEP students and families because of the lack of effective language access in CPS schools;
WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, which includes schools;
WHEREAS, CPS receives $14 million in Title III federal funding that must be used to provide "support...to students with limited English proficiency who meet eligibility requirements";
WHEREAS, CPS has made efforts to be compliant with state laws for African American studies and has also made efforts to implement Latino studies but still falls short of a mandated ethnic studies curriculum;
WHEREAS, the current CPS curriculum fails to adequately address not only the language access needs of students, but also the histories and experiences of immigrant and refugee students, thereby hindering them from successfully integrating into their schools and into the city of Chicago;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council call for hearings before the Committee on Education and Child Development for the following purposes:
to hear from immigrant and refugee English Learner students and parents to understand their experiences and recognize how to best respond to their issues;
to determine if CPS is fully compliant with existing federal, state, and city laws, resolutions, and ordinances relating to Language Access, EL services, and protections of immigrant and refugee communities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the Chicago City Council stands in support of immigrant and refugee students in their efforts to receive equitable funding for culturally relevant services, transition classes for EL students, and ethnic studies courses.
Scott Waguespack, 32nd Ward Alderman