Jun 182023
 

DECISION ON URBAN PREP MORALLY BANKRUPT AND ILLEGAL

Black children deserve a quality education. It is a right. Further, Black children deserve the community standing up to protect their rights, therefor the fight continues. Our call on the Governor and the Mayor to save Urban Prep continues.

This fight is straightforward: Black children deserve a quality education and Urban Prep is providing our boys and young men with a quality education, therefor Urban Prep should not be closed.

Please read the below updates on the status of the fight to save Urban Prep.

Importantly, COAL will hold a press conference on Tuesday, June 20th, at 11:00am, on the 3rd floor of City Hall to again call on the Governor and the Mayor to redress the CPS Board and ISBE actions to close Urban Prep. The press release will follow.

Respectfully,

COAL Board of Directors

_____________________________________________
“The time to work seriously and collectively, to improve the state of our Community, is upon us…”

Let Us be intentional in all aspects of the Work that must be done.


DECISION TO CLOSE URBAN PREP IS MORALLY BANKRUPT AND ILLEGAL
The CPS/ISBE decisions to close down Urban Prep are morally bankrupt due to both entities not prioritizing the education of Black youth, and actually appear illegal.

The general assembly passed legislation, signed into law by Governor Pritzker, which transitions Chicago to an elected school board. The following provision is contained within the legislation which is now the law:

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 new)

Sec. 34-18.69. Moratorium on school closings,
consolidations, and phase-outs. The Board shall not approve any school closings, consolidations, or phase-outs until the Board of Education is seated on January 15, 2025.

The very legislation which paves the way for an elected Chicago school board, placed a moratorium on school closings, and with no exceptions to this moratorium written into the law. It appears that both the CPS Board and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) were in clear violation of Illinois law with votes to close down Urban prep.

What say you Governor Pritzker (you signed the legislation into law)?

What say you, Mayor Johnson?
What say you, Black elected senators and representatives (you wrote and passed the legislation)?
What say you, Cook County Circuit Court (the law is clear and unequivocal)?

We the community say, stop this morally bankrupt and illegal closing of Urban Prep, and let it continue to provide our boys and young men with the educational and character-building tools to succeed in life.

That is a ‘Stone COAL’ truth.

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