Chicago Catholic schools warn of cuts to services for special needs students
Families of students with disabilities at non-public schools across Chicago are being warned that the funding for their special education services is about to dry up.
As non-public schools braced for the funding to run out any day, Chicago Public Schools sent a letter on Tuesday morning saying current services are now funded through at least the end of January, but beyond that, there are no guarantees.
"Where is that money going if it's not going to what it's supposed to be going to?" said Laura Doyle, who has two children at a Catholic school on the city's Northwest Side.
Her children receive special education services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA, which is financed through a combination of federal, state, and local government funds. Her son and daughter qualify for different combinations of speech therapy, social work, and help with reading, writing and math.
"They get the extra attention that they need," she said.
Doyle said her daughter didn't have access to those services last year, and the difference is night and day.
"She fell behind, her confidence was impacted, she didn't want to go to school because she wasn't able to keep up with her peers, and so that's devastating," she said.
Last month, they got word from the Archdiocese of Chicago that, due to funding issues, the services "will be more limited this year."
Chicago Public Schools, essentially the money manager for the IDEA funds, said that's because funds to support students with disabilities have not kept pace with the growing needs of Chicago's students.
If this sounds familiar, that's because last April, more than 800 students with disabilities in Chicago's Catholic schools were told their support services were suddenly canceled for the rest of the school year for the same reason.
"When you strip away the help, that makes it feel like, well, maybe I didn't deserve it," said Beth Heaton, the mother of a student who uses IDEA services.
CPS was able to restore those services with emergency funding a week after pulling those funds last school year.
On Tuesday, CPS told parents that despite this year's funding shortfall, services will continue "through at least January 31, 2027, and that CPS is actively working on a plan to extend services for as long as possible beyond that date."
Within Chicago's nonpublic schools, enrollment for IDEA services grows by about 200 to 300 student referrals per month.
So, more and more kids are needing these services, but the funding isn't growing at the same rate, leaving parents fighting for the help their kids can't afford to lose.
"They need these services and so we've got to figure out how to prioritize that," Doyle said.
There is a component of state funding in all of this, so CBS News Chicago reached out to several local lawmakers about what can be done.
Illinois state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), who's on the Senate Appropriations Education Committee, said these students are legally entitled to this kind of instruction, so the "General Assembly will continue to evaluate and explore potential solutions."