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Special Education

Even as CPS opens more new schools, children with special needs have a tougher time finding options. Placements in private therapeutic schools are scarce, and some charters are reluctant to enroll them.

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Chicago Teachers Union

In the News: CTU to flex its muscle at big rally May 23, 2012 By: Cassandra West It's a big day for the Chicago Teachers Union, as it expects thousands of its members to attend a rally at the Auditorium Theatre that's staged to fire up teachers and serve as a display of muscle in the midst of protracted contract talks with CPS. Read More \| (0) Comments	Strike authorization vote likely before end of school year May 22, 2012 By: Sarah Karp Wednesday afternoon the Chicago Teachers Union is planning a massive rally to protest the current CPS contract proposal, which they call “unreasonable.” No strike authorization vote will be taken at the downtown event, but such a vote will likely happen before the end of this school year. CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey says the vote is a “bargaining tool,” and emphasized that a strike date would not be set until after a final proposal is on the table, which won’t happen until the middle of the summer. Read More \| (16) Comments
In the News: Voters side with CTU on school reform May 16, 2012 By: Cassandra West Chicago voters overwhelmingly back Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push to extend the school day, but far more of them side with the teachers union than the mayor on overall efforts to improve education, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows. Read More \| (14) Comments	CTU: Poll shows members unhappy with contract proposal May 11, 2012 By: Sarah Karp In the ongoing battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS over a new contract, CTU announced Friday that the first large-scale poll of its members found that more than 90 percent think the current proposal will "lower the quality of education in the city." But CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll fired back, accusing the CTU of putting out misleading information about the details of the proposal in an attempt to fire up the base. “If I were a CTU member, I would be disappointed,” she said. Read More \| (45) Comments
As contract talks heat up, teachers union seeks stronger ties with parents May 03, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris In recent weeks, teachers at dozens of schools have made efforts to reach out to parents about issues ranging from the longer school day and school funding to class sizes to teacher pay. Read More \| (18) Comments	In the News: CTU's Lewis responds to 'distortion' April 19, 2012 By: Cassandra West On the Tribune's editorial page, CTU President Karen GJ Lewis lays out the union's case as it navigates "a very difficult series of negotiations for the next teachers contract." Read More \| (0) Comments
In the News: LSC elections start Wednesday April 17, 2012 By: Cassandra West Local School Council elections in Chicago Public Schools start this Wednesday, with 6,500 candidates running for the school-based seats. Meanwhile, CPS has created an app called, "Who is Running for my Local School Council?" so parents can see a list of candidates running for positions. Read More \| (0) Comments	CPS, CTU prepare for fact-finding in contract negotiation April 16, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union, which had previously been in mediation since early February, have appointed members of a three-person fact-finding panel – one of the final steps of a lengthy, legally required pre-strike process set out in Illinois law. Read More \| (26) Comments
In the News: CPS policy on LSC process criticized April 11, 2012 By: Cassandra West One of the original authors of the LSC concept says Chicago Public Schools obstructed their own efforts to promote LSC elections by taking more than a week to make the names of Local School Council candidates available to the press or public. Read More \| (0) Comments

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