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Good morning! It’s Makiya Seminera, one of your Chalkbeat reporters here to keep you up-to-date on the latest happenings in the Chicago education scene.
Yesterday, I took a trip down to Richard J. Daley College in the West Lawn neighborhood to report on Democratic Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia’s proposal to enact legislation — called the Right to Learn Act — that would create a federal grant program for schools needing assistance in supporting students who may be impacted by immigration enforcement. That grant program would be implemented by the U.S. Department of Education, which is being actively dismantled by the Trump administration as we speak. And if you haven’t already seen it, Chalkbeat national editor Erica Meltzer has the latest on that very topic.
What’s the likelihood of Garcia’s legislation passing through the House? Not too good, considering Republicans hold a narrow majority in the chamber. But it is an election year, and Democrats stand a chance at flipping the House so … maybe? TBD on that one.
But one thing I can say about the legislation is it certainly has some folks engaged. Garcia, along with Chicago Board of Education member Yesenia Lopez and Latino Policy Forum President Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, spoke to a room of more than 30 people at the Southwest Side College. The audience was a healthy mix of students, faculty, and community members, signaling the issue of immigration enforcement in schools is still a pressing one for many in Chicago.
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Local News
Some immigrant children are more fearful than ever to go to school. U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia wants to help them.
Immigrant and undocumented students have become more fearful to go to school after heightened ICE enforcement and critical federal program rollbacks, Garcia said.
Around Chalkbeat
Education Department dismantling continues: special ed oversight to HHS, civil rights to Justice
The Trump administration has moved some of the most essential functions of the federal Education Department to other agencies without congressional approval.
NYC to overhaul attendance rules, requiring a ‘school avoidance liaison’ at every school
NYC’s Education Department is proposing to update attendance rules and require every school to have a trained liaison to help students struggling with school avoidance.
Students are often told to go to college. What if they need ‘career navigation’ first?
K-12 schools should provide career navigation to students, a new FutureEd report says. Its author believes more counseling and embedding career education into curriculum can help.
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What We’re Reading
Programs across Chicago’s higher education scene help students bridge ideological, political differences, The Chicago Tribune (Paywall)
Judge Blocks USCIS Pause, but International Students Remain in Limbo, Inside Higher Ed
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