CPS CEO Forrest Claypool recently announced an immediate and permanent selective enrollment ban on students who were admitted based on false information.
This new rule will address concerns that academically qualified students within city limits are being denied placements in CPS’ highly competitive selective enrollment schools because families falsely claim Chicago residency during the application process.
The new rule also applies to students who commit “tier fraud” and claim to live in a more disadvantaged neighborhood. Additionally, this policy closes a loophole in which students admitted under false pretenses could return to selective enrollment schools via transfer or re-enrollment, even after committing fraud.
“Fraud not only undermines confidence in the school system, it robs a deserving student of an important educational opportunity,” Claypool said. “With a lifetime ban, we are sending a strong message to parents that this fraud will no longer be tolerated and that consequences cannot be avoided.”
Students at any grade level found to have engaged in tier or residency fraud in order to enroll in Selective Enrollment programs will be subject to removal. Under the new rule, such students will be permanently banned from attending any Selective Enrollment schools and programs for the life of their enrollment in the Chicago Public Schools, including K-8 and high schools.
“The integrity of our admissions process cannot be undermined by those who would break the rules intended to safeguard the education of all students,” said Chief Education Officer Janice K. Jackson. “Every fraudulently taken seat robs a deserving student of an opportunity, and we owe it to our students and parents who work so hard to achieve their dreams to protect those seats.”
In the upcoming weeks, notification letters will go out to all students who applied to selective enrollment schools to inform them of this change and applications will be updated to include an affirmation statement parents must sign acknowledging the district’s right to immediately and permanently remove a student from selective enrollment schools if it is found that their residency was falsified.
Additionally, the Principal’s Discretion Handbook and Options for Knowledge Guide will be updated with language codifying this policy as it relates to their discretionary admissions authority.
The policy notice is available on the CPS Office of Access and Enrollment website at www.cpsoae.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ ID=388587&id=0
