Multicultural Education and Diversity

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RECOMMENDS

That the Chicago Board of Education (“Board”) rescind Board Report 91-1023-PO1 Multicultural Education and Diversity Policy and adopt a new Culturally Responsive Education and Diversity Policy to ensure that the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system provides an inclusive and equitable education environment that reflects the diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences of all students and staff. This policy aims to foster environments where all students and staff feel valued, respected, and empowered to achieve their highest potential while requiring collective accountability for culturally responsive education, anti-racism, anti-bias, and diversity practices across the school district. This policy was posted for public comment from November 1, 2024 until December 2, 2024.

I. SCOPE OF POLICY

The Board is committed to promoting inclusive and equitable educational environments. This policy applies to the Board of Education, the District, and all CPS schools. The Culturally Responsive Education and Diversity (CRED) Policy mandates the integration of cultural responsiveness, linguistically responsive anti-racist, anti-bias, and diversity practices, curriculum, and professional learning across the district. The policy supports our school district in operationalizing the CPS Equity Framework by anchoring in two key dimensions of the equity lens: Liberatory Thinking, which encourages critical reflection and action to dismantle inequities, and Inclusive Partnerships, which foster collaboration and shared responsibility among all stakeholders. The policy aligns with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards (2021).

II. DEFINITIONS

Anti-racism: The work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life. Anti-racism tends to be a deliberate and proactive approach that opposes racist thoughts, behaviors, and impacts at the individual, institutional, and/or societal level (NEA, 2024; Race Forward, 2015). An anti-racist is someone who supports anti-racist policies through their actions or expresses anti-racist ideas. (Kendi, 2019).

Anti-bias: An anti-bias approach is the act of analyzing and making sense of individual histories, identities, attitudes, or stereotypes that affect one’s understanding, actions, and decisions while explicitly working to end all forms of bias and discrimination, including mitigating implicit bias.

Culturally Responsive Education: Empowering the cultures, languages, and identities of each student and CPS stakeholder through instructional and operational change initiatives, processes, and outcomes using cultural references and experiences to interrupt systems of oppression and racism with a focus on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other most impacted communities.

Diversity: Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, and it encompasses all the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. A broad definition includes not only race, ethnicity, and gender — the groups that most often come to mind when the term "diversity" is used — but also age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and values (UC Berkeley, 2018).

Equity: Championing the individual cultures, identities, talents, abilities, languages, and interests of each student by ensuring they receive the necessary opportunities and resources to meet their unique needs and aspirations. In an equitable educational system, every student has access to the resources, opportunities, supports, and educational rigor they need at the right moment in their education, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, learning path, accessibility needs, family background, family income, citizenship, or tribal status (CPS Equity Framework, 2020)

Targeted Universalism: A framework that recognizes the critical role of systems and structures in students’ everyday experiences and acknowledges that the way students interact with those systems and structures differs depending on identity and students’ life circumstances, both of which can affect how they perform in school. To be successful in this work, we believe we must take a racial equity stance through targeted approaches to eliminate racialized outcomes caused by structural racism. (CPS Equity Framework, 2020).

Restorative Practices: Restorative practices refer to a continuum of school-based alternatives to exclusionary discipline that are adapted to the particular needs of the school and community. Restorative practices contribute to maintaining school safety, protect the integrity of a positive and productive learning climate, and teach students the personal and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in school and society. In addition, restorative practices serve to build and restore relationships among students, families, schools, and communities and reduce the likelihood of future disruption by balancing accountability with an understanding of students’ behavioral health needs. Restorative practices are ways of proactively developing relationships and community, as well as repairing the community when harm is done. After conflict or harm, restorative practices provide a way of thinking about, talking about, and responding to issues and problems by involving all participants to discuss their feelings and opinions, identify what happened, describe how it affected everyone, and find solutions to make things better.

Workforce Equity: Workforce equity ensures equitable human resource practices, including hiring, retention, and promotion efforts focused on the greatest-needs groups and most impacted community members while centering competencies of cultural responsiveness, anti-racism, and anti-bias. Workforce equity requires CPS to eliminate institutional barriers and sustain targeted universalist equity goals related to employee attraction, selection, participation, and retention for most impacted populations at the School, Office, and Department level to ensure representativeness reflecting student demographics (City of Seattle, 2016).

III. Culturally Responsive Education and Diversity Collaboration and Partnerships

• CPS is committed to prioritizing the voices of those most impacted, especially students and families, in policies related to district and school culture. Using the CPS Spectrum of Inclusive Partnerships tool, CPS will also engage key partners in the implementation of this Policy, including community organizations, city and other government agencies, researchers, philanthropy, and local businesses, to provide comprehensive support and resources to create culturally responsive and equitable educational experiences for all students.
• The implementation of this Policy also requires the partnership of several CPS departments. The Office of Equity will partner with representatives from the following departments and other relevant departments:
  • Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L)
  • Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE)
  • Office of Social and Emotional Learning (OSEL)
  • Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD)
  • Office of Student Protections and Title IX (OSP)
  • Office of Network Support (ONS)
  • Office of Family and Community Engagement (FACE)
  • Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW)
  • Office of Multilingual-Multicultural Education (OMME)
  • Department of Student Voice & Engagement (DSVE)
  • Office of Talent
  • Office of Safety and Security

IV. Policy Commitments

1. Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices:
   • The Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L), in collaboration with the Office of Multilingual-Multicultural Education (OMME), Office of Equity, and other essential offices, shall ensure that all CPS educators have opportunities to receive ongoing and adaptive professional learning to enhance their understanding and implementation of culturally responsive and linguistically responsive pedagogy and practices in alignment with the ISBE Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards (2021). This includes strategies to address and dismantle biases, promote anti-racist education, and foster inclusive learning environments.
   • All CPS educators shall aim to incorporate culturally responsive and linguistically responsive teaching practices into their instruction in alignment with the CPS Framework for Teaching and ISBE Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards (2021). These practices should recognize and celebrate the diverse cultural backgrounds and languages of students and communities, ensuring that the curriculum is inclusive and reflective of the students' experiences, with a heightened focus on students furthest from opportunity.
2. Curriculum and Instruction:
   • The Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L), in collaboration with the Office of Multilingual-Multicultural Education (OMME) and other essential offices and educators, aims to regularly review and revise the CPS curriculum in alignment with the CPS Instructional Equity Curriculum Rubric to support a consistent, effective development of high-quality, linguistically appropriate curriculum and ensure it includes diverse perspectives and accurately represents the contributions, histories, and languages of various cultural groups and communities. This includes integrating Black history, Latiné/x history, Indigenous history, Asian American history, and other underrepresented narratives.
   • Supported by the Office of Network Support (ONS) and The Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L), school leaders and educators shall aim to ensure instructional materials and resources are selected using the CPS Instructional Equity Rubric in alignment with the CPS School Leadership Framework to support the diverse cultural experiences of students. This includes literature, multimedia, and other educational tools that reflect a wide range of voices and experiences.
3. Professional Learning
   • CPS shall ensure that all CPS staff, including educators, administrators, support personnel, network, and central office staff, have opportunities to receive ongoing and adaptive professional learning focused on culturally responsive education, linguistically responsive education diversity, anti-racism, and anti-bias practices. This training will equip staff with the skills necessary to create and maintain inclusive district and school environments.
4. Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Initiatives:
   • The Office of Equity, in collaboration with the Office of Student Protections and Title IX (OSP), the Talent Office, and other relevant departments, shall implement district-wide initiatives to promote anti-racism and anti-bias practices. These initiatives will include policies, professional learning, and programs aimed at addressing and eliminating discriminatory practices and systemic inequities. These practices shall align with the CPS Equity Framework and the CPS Final Comprehensive Non-Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Retaliation Policy (22-0928-PO2).
   • The Office of Social Emotional Learning (OSEL), in collaboration with the Office of Equity and other relevant offices through regular professional development and targeted support, will work to reduce disparities in disciplinary actions and other areas where inequities may exist. This includes ensuring that disciplinary policies are applied equitably and that restorative practices are employed to support student's social and emotional development.
5. Workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
   • CPS is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive district and school community. The Talent Office, in partnership with schools, networks, and other offices, shall lead efforts to recruit, hire, promote, and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the student population. By doing so, we aim to cultivate learning and work environments where students and staff can see themselves valued and represented while also expanding their understanding of the broader world.
   • CPS is committed to promoting inclusive practices that ensure all students and staff, regardless of race, national origin, ethnicity, language, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic status, religion, education, marital status, physical appearance, or other characteristics, feel affirmed, welcomed, and supported throughout the district.
6. Community Engagement:
   • The Office of Family and Community Engagement (FACE), the Department of Student Voice & Engagement (DSVE), and other relevant departments, in collaboration with the Office of Equity, will aim to engage with students, families, and community members to gather feedback and ensure the implementation of the CRED Policy aligns with the needs and expectations of the CPS community.
   • With the support of the Office of Multilingual-Multicultural Education (OMME), schools will aim to ensure that communication and engagement strategies are linguistically accessible and culturally responsive by engaging families in their home languages and recognizing the cultural assets they bring.
   • Schools are responsible for fostering strong partnerships with families and community members, ensuring their voices are integral to school decision-making processes and where families and community members feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to the development of school policies, curriculum, and practices.
   • The district will also collaborate with community organizations, businesses, and city agencies to support the goals of the CRED Policy and enhance the resources available to students, staff, and families.
7. Accountability and Monitoring:
   • Each school, office, and department within CPS is responsible for implementing this policy and ensuring compliance with its commitments. This includes developing process guidelines and monitoring mechanisms to track progress and address areas of concern.
   • In alignment with the Continuous Improvement Data Transparency (CIDT) policy, the district shall submit a report to the Board before the end of the calendar year at least once every three years, starting in FY28 inclusive of district findings on the evaluation and impact of the CRED Policy, as well any recommendations for improving the policy based on findings. This report will include data on resources and supports, professional learning, conditions for cultural responsiveness in schools, and evidence of student learning and well-being.
   • The district shall report annually on the progress of the implementation of the CRED Policy to the Board of Education and the broader CPS community.