Last fall, amid heightened federal immigration enforcement, Chicago communities and schools mobilized quickly and creatively to help students get safely to and from school. These compassionate, community-led efforts were laudable — but given what is occurring in Chicago and across the country, we must be prepared to do far more for the city’s children. Despite these amazing efforts, far too many students, particularly English learners and Latine students, stayed home. What began as a safety concern quickly became an attendance crisis.
If last week’s actions in Minneapolis are any indication of what this intensified moment could bring, communities should brace for disruptions far greater than those seen in Chicago last fall.
Chicago Public Schools has struggled with attendance throughout the 2025-26 school year, continuing a pattern of chronic absenteeism that dates to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research reaffirms that attendance matters not only for learning and achievement but also for school culture and climate.
But today’s challenge is distinct — driven by unprecedented actions being taken by the federal government, often in direct conflict with local governments. Without timely, transparent data, it is impossible to respond with the precision and coordination this moment demands.
CPS and the city should immediately begin sharing weekly absenteeism data, separated by English learners and non-English learners, at the districtwide and regional levels and searchable by grade level. Reporting according to individual schools or community areas is unnecessary and could risk singling out specific neighborhoods. But citywide and regional data would allow CPS, community organizations, funders and policymakers to align efforts and resources in real time.
The risks of sharing this data is minimal. Federal immigration actions are already concentrated in these regions. Without transparent, timely data, public attention has been muted, and coordination across CPS, the city and community partners has been more difficult than this moment demands. However, having access to accurate attendance data would make it possible to prioritize and prepare high-risk communities. For example, Safe Passage could be expanded, routes to school incorporating designated safe havens could be established, and schools could establish sanctuary teams to serve as trusted points of contact for families. But we must understand where these sorts of tactics are needed.
Let’s be clear: Students in Chicago (and in other cities across the country) are missing school because of fear tied to federal immigration actions. Schools and community groups have reported sharp spikes in absences during and immediately following enforcement activity.
Parents in our network describe being terrified, with some fearing their children, many of whom have legal status, could be used as leverage against family members. While there is no legal basis or precedent for such actions, rumors alone have been enough to keep children home and out of classrooms. Although enforcement activity in Chicago has temporarily slowed, federal officials have signaled renewed action this spring. We must be better prepared next time.
The importance of children being able to attend school safely cannot be overstated. Decades of data show that school attendance is tied to better life outcomes, stronger economic participation, improved health and safer communities. This principle is so fundamental that in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of all children, regardless of immigration status, to a public education. To be clear, the U.S. government wants these children in school. The education of all Chicago children mustn’t become collateral damage to immigration enforcement actions, regardless of how one views these actions.
Families also want their children in school. They trust schools to keep them safe and fed. What they fear is the commute to and from school. This is particularly true in neighborhoods, where many students are already struggling to overcome numerous barriers to their achievement.
We cannot address this acute, location-specific challenge without real-time data showing where and when students are missing school. Weekly attendance data is essential for precision, coordination between CPS and communities, and mobilizing additional support from philanthropy, city wards and community safety initiatives.
On behalf of thousands of CPS families living with daily anxiety, we urge the district to begin regularly sharing attendance data no later than February, in advance of an anticipated resurgence of federal immigration activity this spring. If CPS could share daily data during the COVID-19 pandemic so communities could respond accordingly, it can do so again now. For many Chicago families, this moment feels like a new kind of pandemic — and it demands the same urgency and transparency.
Daniel Anello is CEO of the nonprofit Kids First Chicago.
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