Officials are considering opening more so-called specialty schools meant to help students with more challenging disabilities transition into the real world.
Chicago's Urban Autism Solutions provides vocational training and job placement for Chicago Public Schools high school students with autism and related challenges from the West Side. Heather Tarczan, executive director of Urban Autism Solutions, said these students generally receive limited services in their schools compared to schools in wealthier neighborhoods. UAS programming aims to address both racial and demographic inequalities.
Six student-led designs have been chosen as finalists, whittled down from 23 semi-finalists, which were themselves plucked from the nearly 300 original submissions. Each semi-finalist was assigned a design mentor to help hone their idea.