Has evidence-based funding made education in Illinois more equitable?
DEKALB — Four years ago, Illinois overhauled the way it funds K-12 education. The state used to have the most unfair education funding in the nation, according to a 2015 study from The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that advocates for students. It found low-income schools received significantly less aid than they would in other […]
Masks Mandated At Schools, Day Cares, Long-Term Care Facilities
SPRINGFIELD – Masks will be required at all Illinois long-term care facilities, day cares and Pre-K-12 schools, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Wednesday amid a nationwide surge of COVID-19. “Every time we think we know where this virus is headed, it changes and it shifts,” Pritzker said at a COVID-19 briefing in Chicago. “For example, unlike […]
Lawmakers Pass $42.3 Billion Budget After 2:00 A.M.
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to pass a $42.3 billion state budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt. Lawmakers have been working on the […]
General Assembly Action: Seclusion And Restraint Ban Will Go To Governor
SPRINGFIELD – A bill to phase out the use of isolated timeouts and prone physical restraint in public schools will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker. The Illinois House on Sunday voted unanimously to concur in changes the Senate made to House Bill 219, which include putting a virtual halt to the practices starting in […]
GOP Lawmakers Say ‘National Sex Education Standards’ Are Too Explicit For Illinois Schools
SPRINGFIELD – Democratic state lawmakers want to adopt state sex education standards that are aligned with a national model. But Republicans say the national standards would require teachers to present explicit material at too young an age. In Illinois, public schools aren’t required to offer sex education courses. Earlier in the spring legislative session, State […]
Measure To Supply Menstrual Products In All School Bathrooms Passes House
SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would require schools to provide free menstrual hygiene products in all bathrooms for grades 4 through 12 passed the Illinois House and will now be up for consideration in the Senate. House Bill 156, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, passed on a 68-43 vote. “This bill will help hundreds […]
State Board of Education Calls For In-Person Learning Next School Year
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday calling on all public schools to return to in-person learning during the upcoming school year. The resolution doesn’t institute any mandates or requirements for Illinois schools to follow, but shows unified support from ISBE for an upcoming decision by State Superintendent Carmen Ayala. In […]
Pritzker Now Says Budget Can Include Added $350 Million For K-12 Schools
SPRINGFIELD – Citing an “improved” economic outlook, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday his support to increase evidence-based education funding in the state by $350 million in fiscal year 2022 which begins July 1. In his February budget proposal, Pritzker originally proposed flat spending for education, citing “financial uncertainty” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It would have […]
Pritzker Urges Schools To Focus COVID Relief Funds
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker took to the road Monday to urge local school districts in Illinois to carefully target the roughly $7 billion in federal funds they will soon receive in order to help students overcome the learning loss they may have suffered during the pandemic. “We’re all wondering if this was a lost […]
Commission To Call For Overhaul Of Early Childhood Education Funding
SPRINGFIELD – A commission that Gov. JB Pritzker appointed in 2019 will soon issue a report calling for a complete overhaul in the way the state handles its budget for early childhood education along with a massive increase in funding for early childhood programs. Speaking Monday at a hearing for a House appropriations committee that […]
Pritzker Signs Education Equity Bill Into Law
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker joined members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Monday to sign a measure aimed at advancing equity in education in the state. House Bill 2170, known as the Education and Workforce Equity Act, contains over 20 provisions aimed at decreasing racial gaps in opportunity and attainment that currently persist […]
State School Board Requests $400 Million Funding Increase, Including K-12 Boost
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State Board of Education officials on Monday made their case for an added $362.1 million to the state’s evidence-based funding formula and $50 million in early childhood education grants, pushing back on the governor’s proposal to keep state K-12 education funding flat next fiscal year. In total, the board recommended a $406 million, […]
Pritzker Protects K-12 Spending From Cuts, But Advocates Say More Investment Is Needed
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker outlined a proposed budget for the next fiscal year this week that keeps state spending on both K-12 and higher education mostly flat. If approved by state lawmakers, this would be the second year in a row that Illinois hasn’t invested in its school funding formula. The formula, passed […]
Children Can Get Severe COVID-19, CDC Says — Especially Black And Hispanic Children
One out of three children hospitalized for the coronavirus was admitted to the intensive care unit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, analyzing data from 14 states.