EXCLUSIVE: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have implemented a policy permitting students who are undocumented immigrants to receive excused absences if they or their family members experience anxiety over federal immigration enforcement in their vicinity.

This policy, outlined in a document titled “Chicago Public Schools’ Attendance Coding for Safety Concerns Related to Federal Representative Activity,” was obtained by the education oversight group Defending Education. It specifies that students can be marked with an “excused” absence status if their parents inform the school of apprehensions regarding federal immigration actions.

These immigration enforcement activities are referred to as “federal representative-related procedures” within the policy, which was reaffirmed by the CPS board in February.

Students make their way to A.N. Pritzker Elementary School on January 12, 2022, in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The policy states, “If a parent or guardian indicates that an absence is due to fear of federal representative-related activities, schools are authorized to excuse the absence under the category of ‘concern for student health and safety.’” It further instructs that the reason “concern for student health and safety” should be noted in the memo section.

No specific details about the absence are required — just that a student’s health and safety might be in jeopardy — and the policy explicitly states that “CPS policy does not provide a time limit” on how long fear of federal immigration enforcement can be used to obtain excused absences.

The reason for a student’s absence must be communicated via one of the district’s approved methods to be considered an “excused absence.”

Further, if a parent is “impacted by federal representative-related procedures,” he or she can designate a guardian to inform the school that the child needs an excused absence.

A guardian and child leave Hamline Elementary School after word that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were allegedly denied entry to the school, according to Chicago Public School officials on Jan. 24, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Another provision in the policy allows students an excused absence if they want to attend a “Civic Event,” defined as “an event sponsored by a non-profit organization or governmental entity that is open to the public” that “includes, but is not limited to, an artistic or cultural performance or educational gathering that supports the mission of the sponsoring non-profit organization.”

“Chicago Public Schools is effectively telling families that fear of federal law enforcement is a standing excuse to keep children out of class with no time limit and no paper trail,” said Kendall Tietz, an investigative reporter at Defending Education. “CPS should not be turning attendance policy into a sanctuary immigration tool. Instead, public schools should be focused on getting kids to school and keeping accurate records, not quietly encouraging truancy and obstructing cooperation with federal authorities. This policy undermines both student learning and the rule of law.”

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conduct operations in the Little Village neighborhood, a predominantly Mexican American community in Chicago on Nov. 8, 2025.  (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The school system received more than $1.5 billion in federal taxpayer funds in FY 2024, according to its own budget reporting.

CPS’ Office of Inspector General recently exposed $14.5 million in “excessive” travel expenses by the school system during FY 2023 and FY 2024, all while only 30.5% of students in grades 3–8 were proficient in reading, and just 18.3% of students were proficient in math in the spring of 2024. 

CPS representatives did not return a request for comment.

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