Teachers Union: Minority Teachers Targets For Layoffs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union says recent teacher layoffs by public school officials are having a greater impact on African-American and Latino teachers.
Jackson Potter, staff coordinator for the Chicago Teachers Union, said 30 percent of teachers in the Chicago school system are African-American, but 43 percent of all teachers being laid off are black.
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CPS earlier this year announced that were laying off nearly 1,000 teachers, mostly at under-performing schools.
"With all the closures that have taken place that target low-income minority communities, a disproportionate number of teachers that dedicate their lives to those students in those communities are African-American teachers," Potter said. "So when they target those schools and get rid of those teachers, that's having a disparate impact."
He acknowledges that's because school administrators seem to be targeting under-performing schools.
The union is considering filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
