Students from Chicago Public Schools, all apparently members of the Chicago Student Union, attended a school board meeting on June 26 and attempted to speak out in protest. A video of the event is available on YouTube, here.
One student who started speaking was cut off after about two minutes—probably the maximum time allowed for each speaker at CPS board meetings—and others started speaking up from the audience. They were escorted out of the meeting room by security guards and without violence, and there were no reported injuries.
Students were protesting the school closings, budget cuts, and teacher layoffs. The district is expected to publish its final budget proposal next month, with a board vote coming, most people think, in August. About $82 million has been cut from the budgets at 125 of the district’s schools, according to the parent group Raise Your Hand, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
