* Tribune…
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates was criticized on social media for a comment she allegedly made at a recent union House of Delegates meeting comparing Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to a student with a specialized education program.
“Pedro is the terrible student in the classroom that can’t get suspended because he should have an IEP and maxed out his days,” Davis Gates allegedly said Wednesday night, using the abbreviation for individualized education program.
She did not respond to a request for comment from the Tribune. But she did apologize for the comment on X.
“That is a paraphrase of my misspeaking, something I immediately apologized for (I’m someone who takes accountability) in a larger conversation about Pedro’s position in the district,” she wrote.
She compared him to a “terrible student” with an IEP? What?
* But she didn’t “immediately” apologize, according to WBEZ…
The delegates who spoke to WBEZ said when Davis Gates was done speaking, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter spoke with her and she immediately went back to the stage to apologize.
So, apparently, she had to be urged to issue the apology.
And SDG should’ve known that her ugly slam wasn’t even accurate…
One special education teacher, who was at the meeting but did not want to be identified, told WBEZ it displayed an alarming lack of understanding about special education. Students with disabilities disproportionately are suspended and subject to exclusionary discipline. CPS special education students can be suspended for no more than 10 days without a hearing.
This is truly not good on every level.
* And then there was this recently-deleted post…
According to Mayor Johnson, among others, that’s also a slur.
* The leader of a very large disability service provider, Access Living’s CEO Karen Tamley, had this to say…
As the mom of a CPS graduate with an IEP and multiple disabilities, as a disabled person and as CEO of Access Living, I am deeply disappointed by the recent comments attributed to CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, who reportedly chose to compare CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to a disabled student who can’t be suspended. Davis Gates quickly apologized, but this statement reflects an ableist bias which must be challenged and cannot be tolerated. I’ve heard from many families and advocates this weekend who are very hurt and upset. Students with disabilities and our community in Chicago deserve better than this, and have a right to expect that our leaders will hold themselves to the highest standards, which includes examining and confronting their own unconscious biases.
- Sad - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 10:57 am:
Everything about her is fake. She claims to be fighting for public education, but sends her own child to a private school. She claims to be fighting for special needs students, but mocks them in private. She claims to be fighting for Chicago, but claimed a homestead exemption in South Bend.
- Montrose - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:04 am:
You don’t make a comment like that unless you have biases against people with disabilities. It is good she apologized, and I hope she sincerely learns from this moment, but it wasn’t just a “I misspoke” thing. It revealed something.
I am with CTU on bargaining for the common good and the substance of what they are trying to do. I really wish they would make it easier to stand with them.
- TNR - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:14 am:
When all you do is throw wild punches, it’s inevitable you’re going to land a low blow — even if it’s unintentional.
- H-W - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:19 am:
Gates may be the Union Boss, but if she is a teacher or holds a teaching license, steps should be taken to revoke her license to teach. She lacks the ethical standards I would expect of those wishing to teach my (our) children. Let the union do what the union will, but revoking her license seems justified.
- JS Mill - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:27 am:
=That is a paraphrase of my misspeaking=
Huh? What a bunch of nonsense. So unclear is the language here and it is intentional to try and camouflage what she really is saying- which is to use special needs students as a slur. She might have just as well used the “R” word here.
=Students with disabilities disproportionately are suspended and subject to exclusionary discipline. CPS special education students can be suspended for no more than 10 days without a hearing.=
Yes and no. Students with an IEP have limitations to suspensions (in or out of school) and are subject to manifestation hearings to determine whether or not the infraction is a manifestation of their disability. If it is, services must be offered/provided. Even then, after 10 days our legal counsel maintains that we must provide services regardless of whether or not it is related to the disability.
In gates statement she states the student needs an IEP which I then take does not have one. If that is the case then there is no “maxing out” as she states.
Either way, the fact that she is this bigoted and also lacks knowledge is simply reprehensible. She is an embarrassment to the profession and an incredible hypocrite to boot. (banned words and punctuation)
- Chicago Voter - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:30 am:
– even if it’s unintentional –
she had to be told to apologize and it’s not the only recent expression of ableism, it’s just one that has broken through all the other noise
- Roadrager - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:40 am:
Of course that’s what she thinks of IEPs. That’s why her kid goes to a school that does not have to recognize or work with them.
Unfit and unserious in every regard. A detriment to the city’s educators and organized labor.
- Cubs in '16 - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:43 am:
Gates is one of those people who thinks she’s always the smartest person in the room. Humble people don’t make statements like that.
- Henry Francis - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 11:56 am:
What is Gates’ skill/talent? She just takes brutal personal shots at Pedro. How does calling your opponent names help at the bargaining table? This isn’t 3rd grade.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:05 pm:
You can tell SDG is the product of a private school education. The air of thoughtless superiority gives it away.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:08 pm:
Offensive and revealing. All Pedro Martinez did was closely read his contract and the law and understand his rights and obligations. This has frustrated SDG and the Mayor to no end, and now they’re utilizing bigotry to try to combat it.
- Rudy’s teeth - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:14 pm:
SDG’s attempt at satire to demean Pedro Martinez is a fail at all levels. Then Gates uses a wide brush to paint a picture with her statement of apology. SDG is no Picasso.
- allknowingmasterofraccoondom - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:15 pm:
She is the defacto mayor of Chicago. She has been shown that she can say anything she wants without repercussions. It has been going on since she arrived on her very tall horse.
- I-55 Fanatic - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:15 pm:
I wonder if anyone has any info on SDG’s approval among rank-and-file CTU members.
- Shytown - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:25 pm:
I honestly don’t understand how CTU members keep putting up with this. These comments are disgraceful and it reflects poorly on them. For them to come from a teacher, let alone someone who is the head of one of the largest teachers unions in the country is not acceptable. I hope that the rank-and-file of this body does the right thing and demands new leadership. The vitriol that comes from her day in and day out is not helpful.
- Ares - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:40 pm:
This drama is a microcosm of the inconsistencies and contradictions which prevented Democrats from keeping the White House and Senate, and from retaking the Us House of Representatives.
- Paddyrollingstone - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:50 pm:
Sorry - Anonymous - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:47 pm
was me.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:51 pm:
Gates can’t disappear from public life soon enough.
- Formerly Unemployed - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:52 pm:
When Karen Lewis mocked Arne Duncan’s speech impediment (also terrible), she was at least trying to point out that in theory public schools have ancillary services that private schools do not. And I am one CPS parent who NEVER thought I would defend Karen Lewis over anything, but here we are.
- Homebody - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 12:56 pm:
I’m a pretty pro-union lefty, but the current CTU leadership and spokespeople seem to be actively going out of their way to alienate basically everyone.
- JoanP - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 1:14 pm:
Some people need to a) keep their mouths shut, and b) stay off social media.
- Center Drift - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 1:25 pm:
Gotta love it when we get to see the real person on social media.
- observer - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 1:45 pm:
They say when someone shows you who they are you should believe them. Nothing about her insensitive and disgusting remarks is a surprise if you’ve listened to her over the years. She has expressed a real distain for students with disabilities. None of this is a surprise.
- Rudy’s teeth - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 2:02 pm:
Between statements and social media comments, SDG shows that she is full of herself. This attention-seeking comment backfires and places her leadership in question.
Let’s not forget about her liberal use of colloquial language in social media posts. MBJ and SDG. What a pair.
- OneMan - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 2:11 pm:
Seems like it is time to have a peace circle to address the various grievances.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 2:21 pm:
I had an IEP, I grew up with accommodations for my learning disabilities. I am married to a teacher (in the suburbs).
This offended me on so many levels.
This is another reason CORE needs to lose in CTU elections.
- Leslie K - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 2:34 pm:
As with other slurs, apologies mean nothing. (But especially when you have to be told to apologize.) Her words show what is in her heart and soul. And it’s ugly.
- Lurker - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 3:11 pm:
I never thought I’d be quoting something where I thought O.W. was correct but …. if someone tells you who they are, believe them. (or something like that)
- Shytown - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 3:15 pm:
If there’s one thing Stacy has been successful at, it’s uniting those of us on this blog who don’t always agree.
- Tammy - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 4:28 pm:
I found myself being one of the CTU’s biggest cheerleaders during the Karen Lewis vs. Rahm days, but now I am completely exhausted with them. Every minute of every day, it’s total war.
I’m shocked by the amount of time SDG spends on social media engaging with trolls. She and John Cantazara are cut from the same cloth. Unfortunately, the cops re-elected him. Let’s hope the teachers recognize how toxic Stacy is and dump her in their election this spring.