Chicago’s Inaugural Hybrid Elected School Board Discusses Concerns About ICE, Student Safety, and Undocumented Parents

In Chicago (WLS), the focus of the first official elected Chicago school board meeting was on the safety of Chicago Public School students concerning ICE activities. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez also made a heartfelt plea to undocumented parents.

“Please, parents, as a parent myself, continue to send your children to school so they can get the education they deserve,” he said.

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Pedro Martinez reassured parents who may be living in fear that CPS is committed to safeguarding their children from any interventions by federal agents. He emphasized that schools are the safest environment for kids. During the meeting, school board member Debby Pope proposed an innovative solution to assist students in getting to school if parents feel too apprehensive.

Debby Pope suggested, “One of the things that we are trying to do is set up community groups of individuals who would gather at the children’s homes and escort them to school.”

There was concern from one board member about the trauma and fear caused by Secret Service agents arriving unannounced at Hamline Elementary last Friday. CPS protocols were put in place when the principal mistakenly though the federal agents were ICE. The Secret Service claims the agents left business cards, an allegation Martinz says is false.

“There is no evidence of cards being left. We have a video. There’s no evidence of it. And so I think a lot of this could have been avoided,” he said.

RELATED: CPS CEO Martinez defends district’s response to false report of ICE agents at South Side school

Besides monitoring ICE action, Martinez said the district is keeping a close eye on President Trump’s proposed funding freeze. For now, it’s been paused.

“Fortunately, it appears that the majority of federal funding in this year’s CPS budget would not be affected by this change, if the funding pause is in fact, upheld by our legal system,” the CPS CEO said.

The hybrid school board is divided, with 10 elected members and 11 appointed by the mayor. There has been a sharp division among the board, with some elected members and those aligned with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union. The sponsor of the elected school board bill, State Rep. Ann Williams, is confident the dynamic will change.

“I think everybody wants to see Chicago Public Schools succeed, and every student had the chance to thrive so I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to come together,” she said.

In the meantime, Martinez gave the board an update on CTU contract negotiations, telling them both sides are very close to a deal. Union president Stacy Davis Gats disagrees and invited the CEO to contract negotiations Friday to get a deal done.