A Chicago Public Schools (CPS) policy allows illegal immigrant students excused absences if they or their family members are afraid of federal immigration enforcement activities in the area.
A document called Chicago Public Schools’ Attendance Coding for Safety Concerns Related to Federal Representative Activity, obtained by education watchdog Defending Education, affirms that illegal immigrant students can be marked as “excused” if a parent conveys to the school that they fear federal immigration authorities.
Immigration enforcement actions are dubbed “federal representative-related procedures” in the school’s policy, which was reaffirmed by the school board in February.
“If a parent/guardian reports an absence and attributes it to fear of federal representative-related procedures, schools CAN excuse the absence under ‘concern for student health and safety,’” the policy says. “In the memo box, ‘concern for student health and safety’ should be written.”
No specific details about the absence are required — just that a student’s health and safety might be in jeopardy — and the policy explicitly states that “CPS policy does not provide a time limit” on how long fear of federal immigration enforcement can be used to obtain excused absences.
The reason for a student’s absence must be communicated via one of the district’s approved methods to be considered an “excused absence.”
Further, if a parent is “impacted by federal representative-related procedures,” he or she can designate a guardian to inform the school that the child needs an excused absence.
Another provision in the policy allows students an excused absence if they want to attend a “Civic Event,” defined as “an event sponsored by a non-profit organization or governmental entity that is open to the public” that “includes, but is not limited to, an artistic or cultural performance or educational gathering that supports the mission of the sponsoring non-profit organization.”
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“Chicago Public Schools is effectively telling families that fear of federal law enforcement is a standing excuse to keep children out of class with no time limit and no paper trail,” said Kendall Tietz, an investigative reporter at Defending Education.
“CPS should not be turning attendance policy into a sanctuary immigration tool. Instead, public schools should be focused on getting kids to school and keeping accurate records, not quietly encouraging truancy and obstructing cooperation with federal authorities. This policy undermines both student learning and the rule of law.”
The school system received more than $1.5 billion in federal taxpayer funds in FY 2024, according to its own budget reporting.
CPS’ Office of Inspector General recently exposed $14.5 million in “excessive” travel expenses by the school system during FY 2023 and FY 2024, all while only 30.5% of students in grades 3–8 were proficient in reading, and just 18.3% of students were proficient in math in the spring of 2024.
CPS representatives did not return a request for comment.
