Chicago Board of Ed votes to prioritize neighborhood schools

Signaling a paradigm shift in a school system largely shaped by choice, the Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday to prioritize neighborhood schools in Chicago Public Schools’ forthcoming five-year strategic plan — a document that will guide investments in the district through 2029 and is slated to be released in June.

Among a range of goals aimed at “disrupting cycles of inequity,” the resolution commits to “transition away from privatization and admissions/enrollment policies and approaches that further stratification and inequity in CPS and drive student enrollment away from neighborhood schools.”

Described by board members as a declaration of intent, the resolution won’t have immediate consequences for charter, magnet or selective enrollment schools, to which students must apply through a competitive, high-stakes process.

But, as community engagement events unfold this winter and spring, accountability for underperforming charter school operators…