Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the public school district responsible for providing K-12 education to students residing in Chicago, Illinois. It operates as a public school district overseen by the Chicago Board of Education. The district delivers instructional services, curriculum development, student support programs, and extracurricular activities across its schools. CPS serves a diverse student population reflecting the demographic makeup of the city. Its core mission is to equip students with academic knowledge and skills for college, career, and civic life. The district also administers federal and state education programs that support disadvantaged learners.

The district's reach is evidenced by the recent data breaches that exposed personal information of over 320,000 current and former students, indicating a substantial enrollment base spanning multiple academic years. This figure underscores CPS's status as a large school district serving a major metropolitan area. The organization's size necessitates extensive administrative infrastructure, including technology systems managed directly and through third‑party vendors. Notable attributes include its role as a primary provider of free public education in a major urban center and its responsibility for complying with student privacy regulations such as FERPA. Structurally, CPS is a standalone municipal entity; it is not a subsidiary of another organization and reports to locally elected officials and the state education agency. The repeated incidents involving its vendor Cleo highlight the district's reliance on external partners for data handling and the associated cybersecurity challenges.