January 21: Teacher firings
The School Board dismisses 138 teachers who were forced out of their schools for a variety of reasons and could not find another principal to hire them. The group includes 40 who lost their positions when their high schools were reconstituted in 1997 and 98 whose positions were cut due to declining enrollment or curriculum changes at their schools. Eight of the teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union immediately sue to prevent the firings, alleging that the district denied the teachers due process. U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel upholds the firings on Feb. 17. The dismissals are the first time the board takes advantage of 1995 state legislation prohibiting the CTU and other Chicago school unions from bargaining over layoff procedures. In July 1997, the board unilaterally adopted a policy giving so-called reserve pool teachers 10 months to find a job inside the system; previously, they had 20 months.

January 25: Mid-year promotions
For the first time, retained 3rd-, 6th- and 8^th-graders are given the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) midyear; those who meet score targets are promoted immediately. In addition, transition-center students who meet the targets transfer immediately to regular high schools; last year, they stayed in the centers to begin high school work. A total of 4,650 students are promoted. Some teachers express concern that the mid-year move might be too disruptive; they suggest tutoring and a specialized curriculum as an alternative.

January 26: Substance/CASE lawsuit
The Chicago School Board files a $1.3 million copyright suit against teacher-produced Substance newspaper for publishing portions of the Chicago Academic Standards Exam (CASE), administered on Jan. 15 to students at all 74 public high schools. Substance publisher George Schmidt, an English teacher at Bowen High School, says he printed the exam questions in the paper’s February issue to spark debate on the appropriateness of using CASE to determine student grades, given what he says are serious flaws in the test. The school system implemented CASE to ensure that classroom instruction and student learning match the academic standards adopted by the Reform Board in 1997. Phil Hansen, the board’s Chief Accountability Officer, says that a new test will have to be drafted and characterizes Schmidt’s actions as "sabotage." Schmidt is suspended from the district without pay in March, and files a countersuit based on First Amendment rights in April.

January 27: Expulsion alternative expansion
As expulsions soar, the School Board broadens an alternative program called SMART, for Saturday Morning Alternative Reach-Out and Teach. Students who have committed non-violent, non-threatening offenses that don’t involve guns, such as being caught with a box cutter, will now be eligible upon a principal’s referral. Initiated in the spring of 1998, the SMART previously served students caught with small amounts of drugs. The program includes drug counseling, gang prevention classes and 20 hours of community service. Students must attend seven Saturday sessions to avoid expulsion.

January 27: Advance credits
The School Board agrees to grant high school credit to elementary-age students who take secondary-level courses at regional schools for the gifted. Seventh- and 8th-grade students enrolled in high school-level language arts, algebra, biology, geometry and world studies will be eligible to take the Chicago Academic Standards Exams (CASE). If all pre-requisites are met, students can earn up to four honors credits, transferable to any Chicago public high school. The courses would also be figured into the student’s high school GPA.

February 2-3: Test protest
Several juniors at Whitney Young Magnet High intentionally fail portions of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT)--formerly the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) exam-- to protest what they see as excessive emphasis on standardized testing. In a normal school year, juniors take PSATs (Pre-SATs) in October, the ISAT in February, the TAP (Tests of Achievement and Proficiency) in May and the CASE (Chicago Academics Standards Exams) once a semester, for a total of roughly 20 hours of standardized testing. By ringleader Will Tanzman's count, eight students intentionally failed the social studies IGAP and 10 failed the science exam. Tanzman says all students involved in the protest maintain grade-point averages of at least 3.8. After the Chicago Reader wrote about the protest late March, CEO Paul Vallas assigned the students a punishment of 10 hours of community service.

March 16: Reform Act controversy
In Springfield, the Senate Elementary and Secondary Education Committee hears testimony on Senate Bill 652, which includes controversial proposals to limit the role of local school councils. The bill’s most hotly debated element would allow the School Board to overrule an LSC’s decision to retain or dismiss a principal. LSC advocates characterize the measure as a "power-grab." CEO Paul Vallas contends that the bill is needed for LSC accountability. The Senate sends Vallas back to Chicago to seek a compromise, passing SB 652 as a "shell" bill that can be amended later to include a compromise.

March 18: Desegregation issues
At a meeting of the School Board’s Desegregation Monitoring Commission, CEO Paul Vallas defends the test-based admissions policy at a newly built magnet high school while a Justice Department attorney listens in via speakerphone from Washington, D.C. About half of the some 500 students admitted to Northside College Prep are minority; under the board’s court-sanctioned desegregation plan, minority enrollment at magnet schools should be 65 percent to 85 percent. Vallas says that to meet that standard, the school would have had to reject 300 white students to bring in more minorities with lower scores, risking a "reverse-discrimination" lawsuit from white parents. However, the board did set a slightly lower test-score cutoff for minority applicants than for whites, rejecting about 50 white students who would have met the lower requirement. Board officials say they hope to shield themselves from potential legal trouble on both sides by admitting a group which closely mirrors the applicant pool.

March 24: LSC Training requirement enforced
The School Board removes 182 LSC members for failing to take legally-mandated training. Two months later, the board reinstates eight people whom it determines had been removed because of clerical error.

April 7: Capital funding
CEO Paul Vallas tells the City Council Education Committee about a proposal to finance an additional $1 billion in school construction and repairs by getting new money from the state. Vallas says he will ask the Illinois General Assembly to change the state’s school aid formula, increase state funding for Chicago teacher pensions, and increase state spending on special education. In total, those changes would produce about $90 million a year for Chicago, says Vallas, enough to service $1 billion in debt. State Sen. Dan Cronin (R-Elmhurst), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, tells the Chicago Tribune that Chicago schools may be asking for too much, too quickly. The board has spent almost $2 billion on capital improvements and estimates it needs another $1.4 billion.

April 27: Metal-detector flap
A week after a pair of renegade students kill 12 of their schoolmates in Littleton, CO, Chicago’s Whitney Young Magnet High installs metal detectors at the insistence of Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas. A month later, the board amends its policy on metal detectors, giving Vallas the power to order schools to use them.

April 30: Vallas-Chico squabbles
The Chicago Tribune reports on tensions between CEO Paul Vallas and Board President Gery Chico, making public what has long been an ill-kept secret and setting off weeks of press speculation about whether Mayor Daley will keep both of them. In the Tribune story, Vallas acknowledges "friction and tension" with Chico, but both Chico and Daley tell the Tribune that they are pleased with Vallas’ performance. The issues reportedly range from competition for public acclaim to an insurance contract. Speculation about a split ends after a May 19 press conference, when Daley announces that he has asked both Vallas and Chico to stay on, and both men say they have agreed to do so. They stand together, smile and insist that their working relationship is strong and healthy. "Some tension is a natural thing in any organization this size with this much at stake," says Chico.

May 10: Daley’s high-school pitch
In his state of the city address, Mayor Daley calls for high school reforms, especially breaking up large high schools into schools-within-schools and extending the school day.

May 13: Tax credit bill
A bill granting up to $500 in tax credits to parents who pay at least $250 in school tuition and fees— in effect, parents who send their children to private or parochial schools— passes the Illinois General Assembly. Gov. George Ryan says he will sign the bill, which offers parents a credit of 25 cents for every dollar spent after the first $250 on education-related materials or tuition. The credit maxes out at $500 for parents with more than $2,250 in tuition. The bill will cost the state an estimated $50 million annually, the Sun-Times reports. Teacher unions oppose the bill because they say it will take yet more money away from already financially strapped public schools. Proponents, including Doug Delaney, executive director of the Illinois Catholic Conference, argue that keeping students in parochial schools saves public school systems an average of $6,000 per student. The American Civil Liberties Union threatens a lawsuit against the state, charging that the bill violates the Illinois Constitution’s church-state separation provisions.

May 15: Waiver ruling
A Cook County Circuit Court judge blocks the School Reform Board’s attempt to reduce physical education requirements from four years to two. State law requires four years, but the Chicago board requested a waiver from the Illinois State Board of Education to free up more time for academics. The Chicago Teachers Union filed suit to protect P.E. teachers who stood to lose their jobs— 136 by CEO Paul Vallas’ count. The judge ruled that the waiver process itself is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. Vallas says CPS may lengthen the school day, at a cost of $22 million, to accommodate increased academic requirements and physical education. Meanwhile, CPS and ISBE plan to file separate appeals.

May 17: No triple flunking
CEO Paul Vallas tells the Chicago Tribune that the board will not triple-flunk students, even if they have not met test-score cut-offs on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. According to the Tribune, about 300 3rd-graders, 100 6th-graders and 42 8th-graders have failed to meet the cut-off scores for promotion for the third year in a row. These students will be screened for special education, Vallas says. Educators and researchers say three-time detainees raise questions about whether these students have learning difficulties or language problems or are receiving poor instruction.

May 19: Test scores up again
School Board officials announce preliminary results for the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP), showing overall improvement for the fourth consecutive year in elementary schools and for the third consecutive year in high schools. The percentage of CPS students scoring at or above national norms on this year’s tests ranged from 35.3 percent in elementary school reading to 41 percent in high school math. Only 6th-grade reading scores showed a decline.

May 27: Senate Bill 652 passes
Amendments to the School Reform Act pass the Illinois Senate, having passed the House of Representatives a few days before. In its final form, Senate Bill 652 gives Chicago principals the right to request a review by an independent hearing officer if their four-year contract is not renewed by a local school council.

June 16: Re-engineering lists
released Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas and the Academic Accountability Council release separate lists of low-performing schools to be considered for re-engineering— a year-long intervention process in which teachers work with administrators to target ineffective staff for removal. Of the dozen schools listed by Vallas, eight are also on the Accountability Council’s list, including Harper High School, which underwent reconstitution, a harsher form of intervention, in 1997. The council listed five high schools not cited by Vallas.

June 23: Beefed-up Bridge
The School Board approves a $4 billion budget that includes a stepped-up Summer Bridge program for 3rd-graders, added at the insistence of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who had earlier objected to the budget's 3 percent property tax increase. The $32 million plan raises the standard that 3^rd-graders must meet to progress to 4th grade and allows teachers and principals to require some low-scoring 1^st and 2^nd-graders to attend Summer Bridge programs. As a result, the number of students attending Bridge is expected to rise from 26,000 this year to 60,000 or 70,000, the Sun-Times reports.

June 23: Urban Youth closes
The School Board votes to close Urban Youth High School, an alternative school for "at risk" youth, over the protests of parents, students and teachers from the school. The board cites low standardized test scores and poor attendance, and data suggest that the school also had an extremely high dropout rate. The protestors contend that the board's decision to close the school stemmed from a desire to placate downtown developers who might be opposed to the presence of minority teens in the school's Loop location. Youth Connections Charter School, a consortium of privately- managed alternative schools funded by the board, will offer slots to 250 Urban Youth students.

June 28: Magnet program revamp
The Sun-Times reports a School Board plan to overhaul magnet programs housed in neighborhood schools. Board officials say they intend to streamline the variety of programs offered and spread the programs more evenly across the city. The plan would eliminate much of the transportation the board provides in favor of hiring extra program staff.

July 1: New Board members
As required by state law, Mayor Daley adds two new school board members, Michael N. Mayo and Clare Muñana. Mayo, a partner at Deloitte and Touche, has served on the City Colleges of Chicago board and on the Chicago School Finance Authority. Muñana, a public sector management and international consultant, served on the Academic Accountability Council before being appointed to the board. She also served as the first executive director of the Financial Research and Advisory Committee from 1987 to 1992. Following another state mandate, the board officially changes its name from the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees back to the Chicago Board of Education.

August 3: Judge rules against school board
Judge Michael Getty rules that the School Board has defaulted on its legal obligations to homeless children. In the settlement terms of a 1996 class-action lawsuit, the board promised to provide transportation and other help when homeless families moved to a shelter in a different part of town, so that the children could stay in their original school. Getty orders "an immediate and massive informational campaign addressing the rights of the homeless," as well as new training for principals, clerks and other school staff. Getty appoints retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sheila Murphy to monitor progress.

August 12: Summer Bridge results
56 percent of 23,410 students in the remedial Summer Bridge program are promoted, leaving 10,371 students at grades 3, 6, 8 to repeat a grade in the fall. Of those, some 1,120 are 3rd- and 6th-graders who have been "double retained" and will repeat the grade for a second time, and 1,370 are overage 8th-graders who will be retained at regional transition centers. Compared to last year, retention rates are down slightly at 3rd and 8th grade and holding steady at 6th grade.

August 24: Charter School change
Three charter schools overseen by the Chicago Charter School Foundation begin the academic year under new management, after CCSF fires Sabis Educational Services, the for-profit company that ran the schools for their first two years. CCSF hires Edison Educational Management Organization, a national for-profit company, to run its South Side campus. The group's two North Side campuses will be managed by American Quality Schools, a new non-profit organization run by Michael J. Bakalis, a former Illinois state schools superintendent. Sabis, whose contract with CCSF ran through 2007, files suit against CCSF for breach of contract.

August 24: Opening of Northside College Prep
Northside College Prep, one of six magnet schools planned for high-achieving students, opens on the city's Northwest Side to fanfare and controversy. Stories in the Chicago Tribune highlight the building's cost ($45 million) and its nickname ("Chico High"-- after Board President Gery Chico, who lives nearby, has promoted the school and has a daughter enrolled). Chico adamantly defends the need for showpiece schools like Northside, saying, "If you can't provide these magnet options to our parents throughout the city, they will leave." The U.S. Justice Department continues to look into complaints that Northside, the first high school built in Chicago in more than 20 years, will contribute to increased segregation and inequity in the school system.

August 25: Promotion bar rises
For the fourth time in four years, the School Board raises the bar for 8th-grade promotion. At the end of 1999-00, 8th-graders will need a grade equivalent score of 7.4 on the math and reading portions of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills to enter high school. Cutoff scores for 6th-grade promotion will rise for the first time from 5.3 to 5.5.

October 13: Daley pushes LSCs
Speaking at a Union League Club breakfast meeting, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley encourages business leaders to recruit candidates for upcoming LSC elections. The event—a kick-off event for the 2000 elections, sponsored by a coalition of education and civic groups— marks Daley's first public involvement in efforts to strengthen local school councils. Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas and Board of Education member Norman Bobins also address the audience of about 230 business and community leaders.

October 21: PURE civil rights complaint
Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE) files a discrimination complaint against the Board of Education with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. PURE alleges that the board's promotion policy is discriminatory against African Americans, Latino and male students, who, as a group, have been retained in disproportionate numbers under the policy. On Nov. 18, the Education Department agrees to investigate PURE's charges.

October 29: Principal invokes new appeals process
The local school council at Finkl Elementary in Little Village votes not to renew the contract of Principal Elizabeth Elizondo, prompting Elizondo to request a hearing to appealing the LSC's decision. Elizondo thus becomes the first principal to take advantage of a recent amendment to the Chicago School Reform Act. Under the law, an independent hearing officer must produce a ruling within six months of the original LSC decision, during which time the council is free to seek a new principal.

November 15: School overcrowding report issued
A new report from a civic organization warns that the Board of Education needs to raise between $1.3 billion and $2 billion to relieve overcrowding, over and above the $2 billion already raised for school construction and repairs since 1996. According to the report by the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG), 29 of 72 high schools are overcrowded, and 57 percent of all high school students attend overcrowded schools.

December 14: Retention findings released
The Consortium on Chicago School Research releases the first findings from a two-year study on the School Board's efforts to end social promotion. Researchers note impressive increases in the proportion of students who meet the test-score cutoff for promotions, especially in 6th and 8th grades, but the report raises several concerns. For instance, the study finds that retained students do not seem to be helped by the policy; and that the process of granting waivers is not consistent for all students.