CHICAGO'S SCHOOL BOARD TO ADDRESS COPS ON CAMPUS: A resolution before the Chicago Board of Education for its monthly meeting on Wednesday would terminate the school system's relationship with the Chicago Police Department, which places hundreds of police personnel in city campuses at an annual cost of up to $33 million. — A separate measure would require public schools chief Janice Jackson to find "alternatives" to the school resource officer program. WTTW's Matt Masterson reports that the school district itself opposes the move, saying decisions on school police should be made at the campus level. FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION OFFICIALS RELEASE NEW GUIDANCE: The two "Q&A" documents address coronavirus-era dispute resolution procedures under Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. — Is this mandatory guidance? No, says the Education Department. Officials wrote the documents do not "impose any additional requirements beyond those included in applicable law and regulations" and that the responses "generally constitute informal guidance" on the department's interpretation of the law and regulatory requirements. They are "not legally binding" and do not "establish a policy or rule that would apply in all circumstances." — The department's Q&A could still answer some pressing questions for parents and educators, especially when it comes to deadlines and the use of virtual meetings to resolve disagreements about special education concerns. COURTROOM UPDATE: A federal judge denied the Chicago Teachers Union's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Chicago Public Schools and DeVos from enforcing regulations on creating remote learning plans for special education students due to the coronavirus. — The union had argued the directives created an "impossible burden" for special education teachers, and, without a court-ordered waiver, its members "would be required to conduct a whole scale redrafting" of some 60,000 learning plans. Bianca has the story. MORE ON MASKS: The California Department of Public Health quietly removed an exemption for K-12 schools and child care centers in the state's mask order, saying the language had been "misinterpreted." That leaves open the possibility that California could still require students to wear masks when they return to campus. POLITICO's Mackenzie Mays has the story. CUTS ARE COMING: "Many states suffering revenue declines because of the coronavirus outbreak will cut K-12 funding," a recent report from Moody's Investors Service concluded. That will leave school districts having to raise revenue, reduce expenses or draw down reserves. — "Many districts receive a material amount of revenue from property taxes, limiting their vulnerability to cuts , but they also face legal or political challenges to raising revenue and cutting spending," analysts said. — "Positively, many districts that closed this spring expect surpluses in the current fiscal year because of cost savings," Moody's said. "The way in which schools reopen will also have impact on financial risk in the form of added expenses and on social risk with either increased virus transmission risk or the risk of failing to provide an acceptable level of service." |
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