The Chicago school board is weighing a resolution that would direct Chicago Public Schools to study how it could expand preschool and bilingual early learning opportunities.
The proposal would launch a two-year review of the district’s preschool system, including staffing, enrollment and access across the city. It also calls on CPS to develop a phased approach for providing services directly to students with disabilities at community-based preschools — potentially reducing the need for them to travel between separate sites during the school day.
“When we invest early in our students, that sets them up for success throughout their entire time here at CPS,” said appointed board member Anusha Thotakura, who introduced the resolution expected to come up for a vote later this month.
But in a Tuesday memo to board members obtained by the Tribune, CPS CEO Macquline King argued the plan would pose “significant financial and operational risks,” potentially duplicating existing services, straining staff and putting the district further in debt.
“In an already financially precarious time, the fiscal implications of establishing or expanding additional service delivery models could cost CPS tens of millions per year,” King wrote.
Under the current system, CPS has a limited number of half-day preschool seats for 3-year-olds, with priority given to low-income families. Free, full-day preschool is available for every 4-year-old in Chicago, but families aren’t guaranteed a spot at their preferred site.
Students can also attend preschool at a community-based organization that partners with CPS and receives public funds. For children with disabilities who attend those programs, the district may provide special education services, such as occupational therapy, at separate CPS sites.
Supporters of the resolution argue the current model creates unnecessary disruptions for young children and their families, including transportation and scheduling issues. They say CPS should provide more services where students already attend preschool.
“It seems very logical to me that we should have push-in services, rather than pull-out services that require our most vulnerable little ones to travel long distances or spend large amounts of time on buses,” said board member Debby Pope, representing District 2B on the North Side.
The resolution points to a pilot program from 2023 to 2025, in which CPS and Chicago’s six federal Head Start providers partnered to bring speech-language pathologists and social workers directly to children with disabilities at community-based organizations. But according to provider Start Early and CPS, results were mixed — in part because of scheduling misalignment between Head Start and district staff, and the program reached fewer students than anticipated.
Before it was discontinued in the 2025 school year, the pilot was operating at just 12% capacity, according to King’s memo.
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Still, the resolution asks the district to explore a “phased-implementation strategy” for special education services available directly at community-based preschools. Thotakura argued that the district has not provided information on student outcomes from the pilot.
In the memo, King countered that the model is “largely ineffective” and “financially imprudent” as the district grapples with mounting financial woes. This summer, the district closed a $730 million deficit, in part through department cuts and layoffs.
Research has shown that preschool improves students’ academic readiness and social and emotional skills before they enter kindergarten, and is linked to higher graduation rates and fewer behavioral issues later in life. The district currently provides $55 million to Head Start organizations for developmental and screening services and $43 million to community-based organizations for preschool. The share of students with disabilities, meanwhile, has grown from 14.6% to 17.3% since 2019.
King also warned expanding services at community-based organizations could accelerate a downward enrollment spiral by drawing students away from neighborhood schools.
“I just have a million questions,” said elected board member Therese Boyle, representing District 9B on the South Side. “My head is swimming with it all, to be honest with you.”
Board member Jennifer Custer, elected to represent District 1B on the Northwest Side, said she was skeptical about “governing through resolution” without incorporating district feedback.
“The consequence of a resolution, although well intended, could actually have a negative effect because of the way that we pass it and we move it forward,” Custer said.
The 21-member school board is in a two-year transition to a fully elected body. Currently, it is composed of 10 elected members and 11 appointed by the mayor. Previously, just seven appointees sat on the board. The expansion has at times led to a fraught dynamic with district leadership, as board members probe long-standing CPS policy.
All of the board members who signaled support for the resolution are aligned with the Chicago Teachers Union or appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former CTU organizer.
The resolution calls for the study to give final recommendations by June 2028. The study would broadly examine the district’s preschool landscape, such as school utilization and waitlists, access to bilingual programming and the potential impact of an expansion on community-based organizations.
In addition to a two-year study, the resolution calls for a separate annual report from CPS leaders about developmental screenings for preschool-aged children, along with their recommendations for improving access.
“This is one of the things I hear most often from parents,” Karen Zaccor, an appointed board member representing North Side District 4A said. “I hear confusion over the application process itself. I hear from a number of parents that they’re not able to get their preschool child into the same neighborhood school that their older children go in … I think it’s clear we need to do some work.”