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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1m

Email from Burr Ridge CCSD 180 suit: "Our elected representatives need to be reminded that Impact Aid funding is an obligation created by the fed gov't when it took property (Argonne Labs) off of the tax rolls which had previously paid taxes to support our schools." www.ccsd180.org/o/ccsd180/ar...

Client Challenge

www.ccsd180.org

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1m

Impact Aid monthly disbursements frozen during shutdown (& beyond if Dept of Ed layoffs aren't restored??)

www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Many Districts Will Lose Federal Funds Until the Shutdown Ends

And if federal layoffs go through, the Ed. Dept. would lack staff to send out the funds afterward, too.

www.edweek.org

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 6h

"pile of ethical concerns wrapped in red flags" 💯💯💯

Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 7h

the merger with a palantir partner makes it all worse, but the original contract was *already* a pile of ethical concerns wrapped in red flags

a for-profit company owned by private equity underwritten by United Healthcare offering a "no cost" service?

Why did the board of education approve this?

What to know about Hazel Health
Last fall, CPS signed a no-cost contract for Hazel Health's telehealth counseling services for high school students and rolled out these services in March. The services Hazel is providing to CPS students are being underwritten by United Healthcare for students' whose own public or private insurance doesn't cover these counseling sessions. Hazel is privately-held, and its venture capital investors include Bain Capital and the firm of a heiress in the Walton family.
CPS' contract with Hazel is set to renew automatically for two years on December 31, 2025.
But if the Board of Ed gives notice by December 1st, the contract can be modified or canceled.

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 6h

Here's the Board rule in question: www.cps.edu/sites/cps-po...

Delegation of Authority to Act | Chicago Public Schools

In addition to the foregoing, the Board hereby delegates the following specific authority to the following Officers or their respective designees with respect to making and executing certain agreement...

www.cps.edu

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 6h

Concerningly, Board doesn't need to vote on no-cost contracts & delegates that authority. So, contract & amendment were just "accepted" as single lines in Board reports (e.g. www.cpsboe.org/content/acti... ); given issues w/ "free" tech, seems like rule the Board should be re-evaluating

www.cpsboe.org

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Reposted by Illinois Families for Public Schools

Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 7h

the merger with a palantir partner makes it all worse, but the original contract was *already* a pile of ethical concerns wrapped in red flags

a for-profit company owned by private equity underwritten by United Healthcare offering a "no cost" service?

Why did the board of education approve this?

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 9h

And now Palantir “the shady data firm ICE uses to target immigrants” has a direct line to students’ sensitive personal data.

Tell Chicago Public Schools: keep ICE's Big Tech partners out of our kids' counseling services!

www.ilfps.org/keep_ice_big...

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 20h

We join 300+ disability rights orgs to raise alarm over mass layoffs at the Dept. of Education. Key offices are critical to protecting students with disabilities. These layoffs jeopardize laws & 50 years of progress.

ncld.org/department-o...

Department of Education Condemned for Ending Support for Students with Disabilities - National Center for Learning Disabilities

Broad Coalition of Disability, Civil Rights, and Education Organizations Call for Reversal of Layoffs at Department of Education October 14, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – A broad coalition of national, st...

ncld.org

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 21h

@sf.gazetteer.co @eddiekimx.bsky.social

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 21h

"Why is a company (Palentir) that makes millions tracking down immigrants for
ICE advertising at SFO?"

And why have they snaked their way into "free" school-based student mental health services across the US?

What we know: www.ilfps.org/keep_ice_big...

The banality of Palantir’s evil airport ad

Why is a company that makes millions tracking down immigrants for ICE advertising at SFO?

sf.gazetteer.co

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 23h

Anyone on Reddit? Follow us: www.reddit.com/user/ilfps

Check out ilfps’s Reddit profile

Explore ilfps’s posts and comments on Reddit

www.reddit.com

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

"Without staff to administer and monitor the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the $15 billion in federal funding for special education may not reach the states, leaving millions of students without essential services and oversight."
actionnetwork.org/letters/aler...

Alert: Federal Special Education Staffing Gutted Putting IDEA Protections at Risk

Hundreds of employees in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) — including staff in both the Special Education Programs and Rehabilitative Services divisions — were laid ...

actionnetwork.org

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

😩 www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

NCDHHS Partners with Hazel Health to Provide Virtual Mental Health Services for K-12 Students in North Carolina

/PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced students across North Carolina will soon have access to...

www.prnewswire.com

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

Also Wake Co NC, Cleveland, Columbus…

@houstoncvpe.bsky.social
@edvoterspa.bsky.social
@strongflschools.bsky.social
@krisnordstrom.bsky.social
@honesty4ohioed.bsky.social

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

Also! very much not just a Chicago problem bc the provider Hazel Health is in 19 states, 180 school districts—incl lots of biggest school districts in US: LAUSD, Jeffco CO, Fairfax Co VA, Philly, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Clark Co NV, St Louis (& signing contracts w states) www.hazel.co/schools/home

School Districts | Hazel Health

Hazel Health is the nation's #1 health care provider for K-12 students. We partner with school districts to deliver high-quality physical and mental health care services, supporting students through e...

www.hazel.co

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

CPS “free” telehealth therapy services provider just merged with a Palantir-partner startup. (Yes, that Palantir!) Handing students’ most sensitive data over to Silicon Valley was never ok; and it’s just beyond bad now. Tell CPS to pause this contract! Details here: www.ilfps.org/keep_ice_big...

Text headline: Keep ICE’s Big Tech partners out of our kids’ counseling services!

Image: graphic in dark blue-green background of police figure holding giant magnifying glass that is casting light (ok, yes that should be a flashlight! sigh.) onto a computer monitor with an image of a doctor and a mobile phone with an image of a patient

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

Take action on the devastating US Dept of Ed special education services staff cuts: sosarizona.org/restore-ed/ (thx to @sosarizona.org for the action link--it works for any state!)

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 1d

"Informal reports say only two senior staff now remain to oversee services for 8.4 million infants, toddlers, children, and young adults with disabilities...'There’s no one left to do the statutorily required work under IDEA.'” mrsfrazzled.substack.com/p/trump-is-g...

Trump Is Gutting Special Education

I was able to speak to someone from inside the latest reduction in force about what this means.

mrsfrazzled.substack.com

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 2d

‼️ 🧊 Keep ICE partners out of our kids’ Chicago Public Schools’ mental health services.

Reach out to your Board of Ed member and urge them to stop an automatic renewal of the Hazel Health contract.

Find them here: www.cps.edu/about/chicag...

Email addresses here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 3d

IL-FPS learned this week that Hazel Health, a for-profit telehealth startup with a CPS contract to provide counseling services to HS students, merged with another tech startup, Little Otter, founded by a member of the “Palantir mafia”, alums of Peter Thiel’s notorious surveillance tech behemoth…😱+🧵

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 3d

“Palantir is the corporate backbone of ICE that the agency is relying on for surveillance and deportations” www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

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Reposted by Illinois Families for Public Schools

Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 2d

Organizing is essential. Courage is contagious. Social proof is persuasive.
People do the thing they think people like them do.

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 2d

My latest is the story of how my community has rallied to protect and defend our neighbors in recent days, as ICE has targeted the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. "This is not a story about a moment of victory, but a moment of being reminded of our power."

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

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Reposted by Illinois Families for Public Schools

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 3d

IL-FPS learned this week that Hazel Health, a for-profit telehealth startup with a CPS contract to provide counseling services to HS students, merged with another tech startup, Little Otter, founded by a member of the “Palantir mafia”, alums of Peter Thiel’s notorious surveillance tech behemoth…😱+🧵

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 3d

“Palantir is the corporate backbone of ICE that the agency is relying on for surveillance and deportations” www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Documents offer rare insight on Ice’s close relationship with Palantir

For years, little was known about the multibillion-dollar company that handles data for the US immigration enforcement agency. Now, a cache of emails, training documents and reports sheds light on how...

www.theguardian.com

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 2d

Subscribe and support here: organizingmythoughts.org/about/

About this site

Organizing My Thoughts is the official newsletter of writer and organizer Kelly Hayes. In this newsletter, you will find interviews, essays, must-read lists, and other musings about how we can take po...

organizingmythoughts.org

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Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 2d

“So, some of us have elected to defend immigrants by stepping into zones of unsafety ourselves…This is a place where immigrants are loved, needed, and appreciated, and we will not give up members of our beloved communities without a fight.” — @mskellymhayes.bsky.social

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 2d

“Our city has been rendered wholly unsafe for immigrants, or for anyone who federal agents might profile as an immigrant. To get to work, to take their children to school, to move about their communities, immigrants in Chicagoland must engage with risk” organizingmythoughts.org/they-came-fo...

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

1 2 6

Illinois Families for Public Schools @ilfps.bsky.social · 2d

“Our city has been rendered wholly unsafe for immigrants, or for anyone who federal agents might profile as an immigrant. To get to work, to take their children to school, to move about their communities, immigrants in Chicagoland must engage with risk” organizingmythoughts.org/they-came-fo...

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

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