DoEd opens Title VI probe into Chicago schools, alleging racial
discrimination
[April 30, 2025]
By Tate Miller | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – The Department of Education on Tuesday said it
opened a Title VI investigation into Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for
running a program that it says discriminates on the basis of race.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Defending Education
with the department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), “alleging that CPS
has an academic-achievement initiative that discriminates against
students on the basis of race.”
Defending Education is a nonprofit working to “restore schools at all
levels from activists imposing harmful agendas,” according to its
website.
“The complaint asserts that CPS’s 2023-2024 ‘Black Students Success
Plan’ violates Title VI by focusing on remedial measures only for black
students, despite acknowledging that Chicago students of all races
struggle academically,” the Department of Education’s news release
stated.
The department confirmed to The Center Square that the Department of
Education sent the investigation letter to CPS Tuesday afternoon.
When reached for comment, Chicago Public Schools said, "Chicago Public
School (CPS) does not comment on pending or ongoing investigations."
In a release concerning its February complaint, Defending Education
alleges that a presentation for the Black Students Success Plan is meant
to be a “deep equity-focused planning process that will result in a
comprehensive set of targeted recommendations aimed at determining the
appropriate inputs that support closing outcome gaps for Black students
in the district.”
Defending Education said that “discrimination on the basis of race
raises concerns that Chicago Public Schools has received federal funds
in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Title VI “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and
national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial
assistance,” according to the Department of Justice.
Defending Education president and founder Nicole Neily said in the
Department of Education’s news release that “no student should be denied
an educational opportunity because of the color of their skin, yet
perversely, that’s exactly what Chicago Public Schools has chosen to do
– despite the fact that the district’s own data clearly demonstrates
that students of all races are struggling academically.
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A member of the Chicago Teachers Union in Springfield at the
Illinois State Capitol
Catrina Petersen | The Center Square
“Amid abysmal proficiency rates, discipline crises, and a nearly $10
billion budget deficit, district leaders made a conscious decision
to allocate finite resources to some students and not others,” Neily
said.
“We are grateful that the Department of Education has opened an
investigation into this injustice,” Neily said.
“The education provided by CPS enabled my family to rebuild their
lives after leaving the internment camps in California during WWII –
which is why I find it particularly lamentable that the system now
encourages treating students differently on the basis of race,”
Neily said.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor asserted
that “Chicago Public Schools have a record of academic failure,
leaving students from all backgrounds and races struggling and
ill-prepared to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of
contemporary American life.”
“Rather than address its record honestly, CPS seeks to allocate
additional resources to favored students on the basis of race,”
Trainor said.
“The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow federal
funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this
pernicious and unlawful manner,” Trainor said.
“To CPS, I say this: Every American student deserves access to a
quality education, and the Trump Administration will fight
tirelessly to uphold that ideal and ensure all students are treated
equally under law,” Trainor said.
According to Defending Education, the Los Angeles Unified School
District ran a similar program as CPS’s “Black Students Success
Plan.”
After an OCR complaint filed by Defending Education, Los Angeles
Unified School District “dropped race as an official factor” for its
“Black Student Achievement Plan.”
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