The majority of the nearly 50 Chicago elementary schools slated for closure will likely proceed after a federal judge denied class-action status this month to the two main civil lawsuits at the center of a dispute pitting parents against education officials.
U.S. District Judge John Lee’s decision leaves open the possibility that he could still order injunctions stopping the closure of a half dozen schools named in the two suits.
Some parents say the closures will force their children to negotiate unfamiliar gang territory, endangering their lives. Parents of children with disabilities say new schools are ill-prepared to receive their children, putting them at risk, too.
