The Chicago Teacherss Union filed a charge today with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that the Chicago Board of Education's 2011 layoff policy had a disparate impact on black teachers, and therefore violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Four tenured teachers formally filed the charge with CTU.

The teachers unions points out that in 2011, 29 percent of all CPS tenured teachers were black, while 43 percent of all tenured teachers laid off that year were African American.

The EEOC filing comes amid a lawsuit CTU has before the Illinois Supreme Court regarding the Board of Education's failure to rehire laid off tenured teachers when openings are made available. The EEOC action also comes as the Board of Education plans to vote at the end of the month to close or turnaround 18 CPS schools, which would result in further layoffs.