A Republican-led congressional committee has subpoenaed Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King to testify at a June hearing addressing “attacks on parental rights, inappropriate content, and legal abuses” in classrooms.
Lawmakers from the U.S. House Education & Workforce Committee issued the subpoena in a Wednesday letter. King previously declined multiple requests to appear voluntarily, citing scheduling conflicts and ongoing investigations by the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, according to a news release from the House body.
The hearing, scheduled for June 10, is part of a broader effort from conservative lawmakers to scrutinize diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public schools under the Trump administration. A spokesperson for CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The constant refusal to provide testimony blocks the committee from doing its job of conducting oversight and further deepens mistrust in our education system,” committee chairman Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan, said in a statement.
In a letter to King, Walberg said the committee is examining the district’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as FERPA. Superintendents from the San Francisco Unified School District and Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia are also slated to testify.
Last year, CPS faced intense pressure from the Education Department over a program aimed at bolstering academic support and other resources for Black students. After accusing the district of discrimination, the agency abruptly pulled $8 million in federal grants.
A committee hearing could catapult King and CPS back into the national limelight. The same House body grilled several university presidents, including former Northwestern University President Michael Schill, in 2023 and 2024 over alleged campus antisemitism, leading to a string of high-profile resignations.
Lawmakers first invited King to testify in mid-April. But King wrote back that she could not participate due to “prior scheduling commitments,” according to the committee. The district’s general counsel also said that she would be limited on what information she could share due to the other federal probes, the letter said.
After the committee gave more potential hearing dates for a hearing, CPS attorneys again wrote back that those investigations would pose “significant constraints on Dr. King’s ability to provide substantive testimony.”
But Walberg responded Wednesday that the committee “is not persuaded.” Ignoring a subpoena, which carries formal legal authority, can result in a House vote to hold an individual in contempt of Congress.
Walberg said that he does “not take this action lightly.”
“Chicago serves one of the largest student populations in the country, and students, parents and teachers deserve answers — not silence,” Walberg said.