The Chicago Board of Education recently announced it has created a more ‘convenient’ way for community members to register to speak or attend Chicago Board of Education meetings beginning this week. “We have listened to the public’s concerns about having to come down early in the morning and spending hours in line,” said Chicago Board of Education President David Vitale in a statement.

Before, community members wishing to sign up to speak had to do so in person on the day of the Board meetings in the early morning. This process required traveling to Board headquarters and waiting in line for hours prior to sign-up starting, according to Vitale. The new system will allow for the public to register in advance of the Board meeting and ultimately eliminate same-day sign up. The Board will transition to the new process over the next two months. Advance registration for next week’s Board meeting of November 14 began this week and will also allow for same day sign-up as part of this transitionary period.

The transition to this new system will also apply to the December 19 meeting, where both advance and same-day sign-up will continue in order to give people time to adjust to the change. The new advance registration process expands the options for persons wishing to attend Board meetings by providing online access through the www.cpsboe.org link, via telephone at (773) 553-1600 and in person at the Board office, 125 S. Clark St., 6th floor. Anyone registering to speak will need to show a photo ID that matches the name of the registrant in order to obtain a pass to the Board chamber, similar to current practice.