Feds Fund ‘Environmental Justice’ Literacy And ‘LGBTQ+’ Health In Chicago Public Schools As Students Fall Behind

As Chicago Public Schools (CPS) continue to grapple with financial and academic shortcomings, officials leading the district have appealed to the federal government to fund equity and climate initiatives, according to federal records.

Roughly 40% of public school students in Chicago are chronically absent, commonly defined as missing at least 10% of days in a given school year, and the vast majority of the students actually showing up to class lack proficiency in math and reading. Amid these conditions, CPS asked federal agencies for funds to increase students’ “literacy for environmental justice” and to improve “mental health equity” for racial minority and “LGBTQ+” pupils, according to government spending records.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded over $400,000 to CPS in August after the district requested funds to help improve the health of its “LGBTQ+” and newcomer students, according to government spending records. The six-figure grant will help address the issues that arise from higher rates of risky sexual behavior, drug usage and worse mental health statuses among LGBT students.

Even as the proportion of chronically absent students remains high, and as test scores remain low, CPS boasts a graduation rate of 83%. The Illinois Policy Institute, a right-of-center think tank, has accused CPS of “promoting students who haven’t mastered critical skills” and argued that doing so “is unfair to those students and sets them up for frustration later in life.”