Committee on Education November 18, 2015 City Council Meeting
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, under federal law the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois a legally bound by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 126 (as amended 2008); and
WHEREAS, the recently reiterated and expanded ADA Amendments of 2008,122 Stat. 3553(b)(1), stresses that the purpose of the ADA is to 'provid[e] "a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination" and "clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination" by reinstating a broad scope of protection to be available under the ADA; and
WHEREAS, it is the legal and moral obligation of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois to provide public education to all students regardless of a student's disability; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Public Schools are funded by taxpayers, with 53.76% of the average taxpayer's dollars in 2014 being paid to the Chicago Board of Education; and
WHEREAS, despite taxpayers' investment in schools, recent figures show that the Chicago Board of Education has cut special education funding to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by approximately $32 Million to date; and
WHEREAS, there has been no documentation produced by the Board of Education to illustrate the decision making process of these cuts; and
WHEREAS, these cuts cause significant harm to the educational progress and access to education of disabled students; and
WHEREAS, these cuts further cause significant emotional, financial and social costs to students and their families; and
WHEREAS, in the absence of accessible special education programs, students with disabilities go without a foundation to obtain competitive employment as an adult; and
WHEREAS, these cuts have further harmed Special Education teachers, resulting in massive layoffs of these specialized educators; and
WHEREAS, these funding cuts are likely to result in a large number of school facilities being in direct violation of...
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