Federal Funding Dispute Jeopardizes Tutor Support for Many Catholic School Students in Chicago

In Chicago, a significant shift in school instruction caught many parents off guard this week, stemming from a funding issue involving both Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Archdiocese.

Due to a shortage of federal funds, more than 800 students in Chicago are set to lose their specialized tutoring services. The exact party responsible for this funding lapse remains unclear.

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Javi Perez, a five-year-old who attends a Catholic school, relies on tutoring from specialists to support his autism diagnosis. This essential academic help has been funded by federal resources.

“It not only allows him to integrate with his regular class but also ensures he receives the necessary additional support,” explained Kinberlyn Esparza Perez, Javi’s mother.

Earlier this week, the family learned that the funding supporting the program had been exhausted. As a result, starting Monday, Javi will have no access to tutoring for the remainder of the year. Javi and his siblings have all been students at Saint Ann School in Pilsen.

While the funding for the instructional support services comes from the federal government, it is administered by Chicago Public Schools.

“We don’t run the program. We don’t receive the funds for the program,” Archdiocese school superintendent Greg Richmond said. “We try to stay in touch with CPS to be helpful and know what’s going on.”

Richmond says the cost for the program for the two months until the end of the school year is about $1.2 million. It affects 833 students who will lose their special instruction.

The Archdiocese says CPS is singling them out by cutting their funding, but not other private schools. But CPS says in a statement that it is the archdiocese that has overspent the funds budgeted for the program.

In a statement CPS sas, “Throughout the current fiscal year, District officials repeatedly alerted Catholic school administrators that their spending trajectory was outpacing the funding allocation; they were on track to exhaust their allocated share of federal funds before the end of the school year.”

“They told us March 25,” Richmond said. “The services would continue through the end of the year. And then out of the blue we were told they were ending today.”

Meanwhile, Kinberlyn says the tutoring makes it possible for Javi to be in a regular classroom. She says now going to be difficult for her son to finish the school year.

“I believe it’s going to have a big impact on his learning, his behavior. So it’s very concerning,” she said.

Archdiocese officials say they are prepared to do what they need to do to try to restore funding, and if necessary, that means going to court.