Chicago Public Schools (Chicago Board of Education) — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
96 / 106
90.6%
Base Score
86 / 96
Extra Credit
10 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 10 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (9)
- 7.4 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Participation in equity-focused conferences — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation was found confirming district-sponsored or funded staff participation in external equity-focused conferences.
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). No public documentation was found describing a specific system for measuring the effectiveness of cultural-competency training (e.g., pre/post assessments or outcome tracking), though the Office of Equity collects some workforce-equity data as part of its framework.
- 3.4 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Peer mediation program — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Peer jury, described as <cite index="67-2">the most common restorative justice practice in Chicago Public Schools</cite>, has operated in dozens of schools since the 1990s and <cite index="68-4">has been written into the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) disciplinary code as a referral option</cite>, but it is not confirmed to be mandatory or present in all schools.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Policy commits CPS to <cite index="20-3">equitable human resource practices, including hiring, retention, and promotion efforts focused on the greatest-needs groups</cite>, and recruiter job postings note staff should <cite index="165-6">partner with hiring managers...and ensure interview panelists promote diversity and create an inclusive candidate experience</cite>, but no formal cultural-competence sc…
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Evidence shows equity/discipline topics reach discipline leaders and school teams (<cite index="10-4">Discipline Leaders across all CPS schools access the expanded training and monthly professional learning</cite>), but it is unclear whether equity topics are a standing agenda item in all staff meetings district-wide.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Some schools have used healing circles for wellness (<cite index="61-5">several schools have been using healing circles to support the overall wellness of staff</cite>), and community recommendations call for <cite index="65-2">peace rooms, peace circles, peer juries, de-escalation training</cite>, but universal sensory/mindfulness space implementation is not confirmed district-wid…
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Peer jury is a student-facilitated restorative process <cite index="71-2">that provides an opportunity for older students (middle & high school) to hold each other accountable and help their peers restore relationships and repair harm</cite>, but it operates in a subset of schools rather than universally.
- 11.4 [Equitable Access to Support Services]: Systems to remove access barriers — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). While multiple access-expanding initiatives exist (bilingual services, community schools, tutoring), no single documented district-wide system was found specifically designed to identify and remove barriers to service access.
- 12.1 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Standing committee/task force for discipline equity — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CPS has codified a <cite index="90-1">Black Student Success Committee underway...[to] monitor the Black Student Success Plan</cite>, which includes discipline-disparity goals, but this is race-specific rather than a general standing discipline-equity task force covering all student groups.