Despite lawsuits filed by parents and concerns raised by independent hearing officers, the Chicago Board of Education on May 22 approved closing 49 schools, just four fewer than the 53 it had announced earlier this year.

The board vote came less than two weeks after Chicago parents filed lawsuits claiming that the closings will harm students with disabilities and are discriminatory because almost all the students affected are African-American.

The board also apparently paid only limited attention to independent hearing officers it had appointed. Some of the hearing officers, who are retired state and federal judges, complained that although city education officials had promised to send students to better-performing schools, they instead plan to shift them from one academically struggling school to another. Some officers also said many of the closing decisions were insensitive to children, particularly special-needs students.

After initially dismissing the hearing officers’ criticism, the school district on May 20 unveiled amended transition plans for some schools, with tweaks affecting security and support for special education students.

The two federal lawsuits over the closings were filed with support from the Chicago Teachers Union.

Chicago Tribune, May 16 and 21