2 days ago
Parents of boy with autism pull him from CPS school after he was left behind twice
A family was left with questions for the Chicago Public Schools after a child with special needs was left in a school band room instead of being put on a bus.
This is happening while classroom assistants are being cut because of the budget. The parents of the boy, Tarrell Whittmon, said not enough aides were on had last school year when he was left behind at school for an hour not once, but twice.
Tarrell is 4 years old. He has autism and is nonverbal.
"He has a smile that brightens the room, seriously," said Tarrell's father, Darnell Whittmon.
Tarrell's parents, Darnell Whittmon and Sheila Vaughn, sent their son to the special education program at Willliam K. New Sullivan Elementary School, at 8331 S. Mackinaw Ave. in the South Chicago neighborhood. They wanted to make sure he had the therapy he needs to thrive.
At New Sullivan, 428 students — 27% — have Individualized Education Program. New Sullivan also has a Gold Circle of Quality preschool rating from the ExceleRate Illinois quality rating and improvement system. This means the school has a "high-quality early learning program" that "meets or exceeds" standards.
But Vaughn and Whittmon say their son attended New Sullivan for just four months before they removed him from the school.
"We're totally afraid to send him back to New Sullivan. We're afraid," said Darnell Whittmon. "We were afraid when he was there enrolled."
"I don't trust them," said Vaughn. "I don't believe my child would be safe if he was in their possession. They not only left him once, but they left him twice."
Vaughn says Tarrell was left twice in the school band room and not placed on the bus after school to go to therapy.
"It was just scary," said Vaughn. "We didn't know where he was."
The nonverbal child's IEP calls for him to be supervised, which would mean having a person take him from classrooms and to the bus. Tarrell's parents said they repeatedly asked for their son to have a special education classroom assistant, but were told he would have to be moved to a lower-level special education class to make that happen.
"We're trying to push him to the next level, not take him back down," Vaughn said.
Whittmon said the school staff also said, "They didn't have enough resources to also have any staff sit with the special needs kids that got on the bus service."
Vaughn contacted a CPS Network Chief, who requested information via email. She sent it on April 5.
"And I never got a follow-up," said Vaughn.
The newly released 2026 proposed CPS budget calls for the following in the area of special education staffing:
But right now, the $30 million in required reserve funds for new special education positions has been identified as a new liability that adds to the $734 million deficit.
"Parents with special needs are having a hard time already with the current budget," said Whittmon.
"I don't just fear for myself. I feel for other parents that have children with special needs," said Vaughn. "Where does that leave our kids?"
CPS didn't comment specifically on Tarrell's incidents, but did provide a statement saying student safety is a high priority:
"The safety and well-being of students is the highest priority for Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The District is unwavering in its commitment to enforcing all CPS policies and procedures to protect and serve students, families, and the broader school community. CPS will continue to act swiftly to thoroughly investigate all credible information received from the community, and will rigorously review and strengthen policies and procedures as needed to ensure the safety of students."
