Chicago Public Schools students return to class in less than three weeks. The school district said it currently has only about half the bus drivers it needs to transport the more than 17,000 students who are eligible to be bused to school.

A Cook County judge has ruled in favor of Urban Prep Academies, which had sued to maintain control of two charter campuses after Chicago Public Schools planned to take them over, amid allegations of sexual and financial misconduct by UPA leadership.

At the first meeting of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new Board of Education, members announced a host of sweeping changes aimed at improving transparency, community engagement and elevating issues important to stakeholders.

While the board won’t officially vote on that contract until next week, some members questioned whether the X-rays actually improve safety for students at schools.

“I think this might be the first time in CPS history … that you have a board that’s made up of almost every one of us has some experience with CPS — either we’re parents, we’ve served on (Local School Councils), we were students or we were educators,” new board appointee Mariela Morales said

Brandon Johnson announced that Jianan Shi, the executive director of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education since 2019, will serve as the board’s president after former president Miguel del Valle stepped down after his term expired last week.

The district’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year will contain $4.8 billion in school-level funding, which officials said is an increase of more than $240 million over last year.

Miguel del Valle, who has led Chicago’s Board of Education since 2019, announced he will be leaving his post at the end of this week.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez notified Jones College Prep parents and families Monday that Joseph Powers has retired after serving as the high school’s principal since 2008.

Austin High School will remove one of its two school resource officers, while Marshall High School has voted to remove both of its SROs. Even so, the contract total will actually increase slightly due to increased salaries for the CPD officers assigned to schools.

Classes may be finished, but beginning Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools will offer free meals to students at hundreds of school buildings throughout the city during the summer months.

Ten years ago, the Chicago Board of Education and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel decided to close nearly 50 public schools, mainly on the South and West sides of the city. Some buildings remain vacant; others are being transformed into community assets.

Englewood had six elementary schools close in 2013 — the most in any neighborhood that year. But in the years since that upheaval, residents have found ways to help the community.

“This is an important moment for our district, not only because of the change in mayoral leadership; but because, with the election of ten board members in November 2024, the Chicago Board of Education will begin its transition from fully appointed to fully elected,” the advocates wrote in the June 14 letter.

Chicago Public Schools unveiled its budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which officials say will boost per-pupil spending by nearly $1,000 and reduce the number of schools that will see decreased funding, compared to spring projections.

CPS confirmed Friday that Stephanie Jones, the district’s chief of the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services (ODLSS), is stepping down from that role after four years effective immediately.