Teachers Fired from CPS Now Barred From Charter Schools

CHICAGO, IL -- CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool announced that contract and charter schools will no longer be allowed to hire barred CPS employees. The announcement was made Tuesday after a report from the CPS inspector general's office found that more than 160 employees--who were barred from CPS after misconduct, alleged abuse, or poor performance--found work at charter and contract schools. The report revealed that thirty-three charter and contract schools hired employees that had been dismissed from CPS.

Three of the former CPS employees had been accused of sexual abuse and 22 cases cited physical abuse.

“The charter and contract schools apparently did not know that they were hiring employees who had been given DNH designations by CPS, because there was no system in place by which charter or contract schools could learn whether their employees or prospective employees had received those designations,” the report states.

Ten of the employees--who had worked at CPS as managers or administrators--were dismissed after allegations of "falsifying or forging" documents, and another seven were accused of "theft, misappropriation of funds, fiscal mismanagement or waste of funds."

The investigation began in June of last year when the inspector general's office revealed that two former CPS employees who were barred from the district had been hired by charter or contract schools.

Under the new regulation, the charter schools that don't currently conduct background checks for prospective employees through CPS will be required to do so by Nov. 17. Claypool said CPS will release the names of any schools that don't sign up for the CPS background check by Nov. 20.

The report did not reveal any names of barred employees or the schools where they worked.

Image via Shutterstock