IFT & CTU President Stacy Davis Gates Responds as Trump’s Department of Education Deals Another Attack to Our Kids and Communities

Westmont, IL - This week, the Trump Department of Education has abruptly canceled full service community school grants—mid program and with minimal warning—citing undefined conflicts with federal policy. This decision rescinds funding that had been in effect for only two or three of its planned five years, pulling the plug on supports essential to students across our state and nation.

See below for a statement from IFT and CTU President Stacy Davis Gates:

---

“The Trump administration’s abrupt decision to halt federal funding for community school programs is a direct attack on students, families, and the educators who serve them. Instead of listening to educators and strengthening neighborhood public schools, this administration is actively working against them—placing ideology over the needs of America’s youngest residents.

“These grants uphold critical wraparound services and allow community schools to be the needed anchor in our communities: mental health counselors, on-site health clinics, multilingual parent resources, tutoring programs for students, food assistance, and more. They make education more meaningful, responsive to student needs, and more equitable by connecting families to the supports that students need to be ready to learn. And now, these resources that educators and communities have collectively built are gone, devastating the families who rely on them.

“The abrupt and cruel cuts are not theoretical. They will be deeply felt by working parents and students who need this essential support. Illinois districts are already feeling the impact and cancelling after-school clubs, student enrichment programs, and tutoring opportunities. That’s why in Chicago, we’re supporting the Protect Chicago Budget, which prioritizes students and working families and requires large corporations to pay their fair share. And that’s why we must call on our lawmakers and Governor Pritzker to fully fund schools and services statewide.

“A community school is the glue that holds our neighborhoods together - providing a centralized hub for education, health, and family support systems. They ensure that where a child lives or the color of their skin does not determine their access to health care, nutritious meals, mental health support, or enriching after-school activities. Remove the grants, and we lose that glue.

“The vast majority of the schools cut by this Trump administration action are among the lowest funded in Illinois. Halting funding part of the way through a multi-year commitment betrays our students, fractures the trust that schools build with families, and doubly harms the most vulnerable schools that need support the most.

“We call on the Trump Department of Education to reverse these cuts and restore funding for community school programs. We stand in solidarity with those appealing this decision. And we call on our state lawmakers and Governor Pritzker to fully fund our schools and communities so that we can ensure these programs are protected in Illinois.

Moreover, we pledge to work with our members, families, school boards, allies, and legislators to demand state lawmakers shield Illinois from these impacts of harmful decisions at the federal level and stand up for educational equity and justice. Our students deserve to be our priority. We must raise state revenue to ensure our schools, higher education, and public services can thrive - and we must do so not on the backs of our working families, but by taxing the ultra-rich and corporations to deliver full funding.

###

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) represents 103,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at Illinois’ community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees.

The Chicago Teachers Union represents more than 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in schools funded by City of Chicago School District 299, and by extension, more than 300,000 students and families they serve. The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third-largest teachers local in the United States. For more information, please visit the CTU website at www.ctulocal1.org.