A lawsuit filed by parents and union teachers in May argued that the Board of Education broke its own rules by ignoring the recommendations of hearing officers to leave 10 schools open.
“The public hearings on school closings were just for show,” said CTU General Counsel Robert Bloch at the time.
CTU President Karen Lewis called Wednesday’s ruling “unfortunate” and the closings a “radical experiment” on Chicago’s youth.
“Sadly, we can always count on CPS to use vagueness in the law to protect its actions in disenfranchising children and families,” she said in a statement. “If the law isn’t clear, CPS will find that loophole and exploit it—to the detriment of the children and families it should be trying to protect.”
CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said the ruling “affirmed our belief” that some children don’t have access to the educational resources they need to succeed, and the school closings alleviates that problem.
The Chicago Teachers Union filed two additional lawsuits in May to prevent the closings or slow them, based on the effects of the closings on special education students.
Article Appeared @http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130731/loop/cps-school-closings-motion-stop-closing-of-10-schools-dismissed