Illinois school district labels black & brown students "dependent learners"
Racial minorities will be among those prioritized when Illinois School District 65 determines who can attend classes in-person with capacity limited by COVID-19 precautions, according to the Evanston RoundTable.
Schools in the district, which includes Evanston and Skokie, will be using about 60% of their square footage and ensuring that students have the space to maintain 6 feet of space between them as much as possible. Teachers will not be forced to work from the schools, so some of them may not be available to provide in-person instruction.
That means student capacity will be limited, and if too many parents choose to send their students to school in-person instead of online, the schools will have to make decisions on who to accept and who to deny. Superintendent Devon Horton said priority will be given to "dependent learners" and "students that are marginalized."
