Education Department Probes Chicago Schools Over Alleged Rights Violation

The allegation states district officials knew Hispanics were the furthest behind in reading yet limited a remedial learning program to black students.

Parents pick up their children from school in Chicago, Ill., on March 1, 2021. Scott Olson/Getty Images

An affinity group for black students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) violates Civil Rights law and could cost that district millions in federal funding if the program continues, the Department of Education has announced.

The federal agency’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation following a complaint filed in February by Parents Defending Education, an advocacy group that has since changed its name to Defending Education.