CPS automatically enrolled students in JROTC military training program that’s supposed to be voluntary: inspector general’s report

Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools freshmen were automatically enrolled in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps classes over the last two school years even though JROTC programs are supposed to be voluntary, according to a CPS inspector general’s report released Wednesday.

The CPS inspector general’s office found four of the 37 CPS schools with JROTC enrolled all of their freshmen in that program for two years in a row, while another four schools enrolled more than 90% of their ninth graders. Students had to get themselves removed from the program if they did not want to participate, a process that was “often inconsistent, poorly communicated or non-existent,” according to the report.

Some principals blamed the automatic enrollment on budget concerns, the inspector general’s office said. JROTC can satisfy a physical education requirement for high school graduation. An individual school’s budget is used to pay for P.E. teachers, while CPS’ central office and the U.S. Department of Defense share the cost of JROTC instructors.

The inspector general’s office laid out a set of 10 recommendations for schools with JROTC programs, including creating a universal parent consent form.

CPS released a statement Wednesday saying it has “already updated policies and procedures related to our JROTC Programming, including our enrollment process, public records training, principal training related to JROTC program administration, and a new military instructor pay scale.” Those and additional reforms slated to take effect in the fall “will provide a more transparent and equitable approach to operating our JROTC programs for both students and staff,” the statement said.

CPS boasts the largest JROTC program in the nation, with an average of one in 14 CPS high school students enrolled in this program over the last three school years, according to the inspector’s general office.

Nearly two-thirds of these cadets were enrolled in one of 37 CPS schools with JROTC, while the rest attended one of CPS’ six military academies. These academies were excluded from the inspector general’s analysis because all of their students take JROTC as part of the school design.

The inspector general’s office said it interviewed principals, students and parents and surveyed JROTC instructors at the eight schools with the highest JROTC freshmen enrollment rates. Seven of the schools are on the South or West sides, with the eighth on the Northwest Side, according to the report. Five are neighborhood schools, while three have citywide enrollment.

At least 10% of a CPS school’s students or a minimum of 100 students are supposed to be enrolled in JROTC for the school to maintain its program, the inspector general’s office said. CPS paid nearly $6 million in salaries and benefits for 97 JROTC instructors in its 37 JROTC program schools the last school year, according to the inspector general’s office. The district covered 69% of these costs, while the Department of Defense paid the rest.

Cadets typically have to wear a JROTC uniform once a week, participate in drills and follow their school’s JROTC grooming standards as part of the program, according to the inspector general’s report.

One of the inspector general’s recommendations is having the Chicago Board of Education adopt a policy requiring all neighborhood schools with JROTC programs also provide all students with a P.E. option.

The board adopted a policy in October that says starting in the fall, all schools must provide every elementary and high school student with “high-quality physical education instruction.” High school students must be scheduled in a P.E. course each semester in every grade level. Students enrolled in JROTC are exempt.

The district should ensure neighborhood schools have the personnel and funds to offer P.E. and JROTC, the inspector general’s office said. The report quoted CPS as saying that “all school budgets support schools’ ability to fund P.E. offerings.” Low-enrollment schools can receive support from district equity grants, and principals of schools with JROTC programs can submit requests for additional funding through network chiefs, CPS said in the report.

CPS also told the inspector general’s office it is offering training to high school principals this week — and annually — that covers, among other things, the importance of voluntary enrollment in JROTC and not using the program as a “physical education opt-out.”

The inspector general’s office found it’s often difficult for freshmen to opt out of JROTC. The most commonly used consent form at the eight surveyed schools is a health statement form that contained “far less information about JROTC” than the parent consent forms at military academies, the report stated. JROTC instructors were not consistently collecting or maintaining these forms, according to the inspector general, which recommends a universal parent consent form.

The report cited one female student who said she was unable to get out of freshman JROTC even though she and her mother raised religious objections tied to their faith as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The inspector general’s office said the school kept the student in the program, but she did not have to wear a uniform, participate in drills or say a pledge.

CPS told the inspector general’s office it plans to implement an auditing and monitoring process in the fall to address JROTC enrollment by school, including the proportion of diverse learners enrolled. The inspector general’s office found at one school last year, the percentage of diverse learners in JROTC was more than double the school’s overall percentage of diverse learners.

tswartz@tribpub.com