From the Desk of Robin Steans – Supporting Students and Strengthening the Road to Recovery in 2023

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

After three difficult years, all signs point to the fact that Illinois has turned a corner. COVID-19 rates are down, and the latest Google COVID Community Mobility Report shows that most  forms of activity have returned to near normal relative to the pre-pandemic baseline. And despite all predictions to the contrary, the state is undeniably in a strong fiscal position. Revenue is up--in fact, General Revenue Funds for FY23 are predicted to be the highest they’ve been in the past 10 years--Illinois has paid down debt, and we are now adding to our rainy-day fund. But our outlook can be even stronger. 

As state leaders make key decisions on how to direct these increased resources, the research is clear: investments in education pay off. Better academic outcomes, enabled by adequate investments in education, translate to economic growth, increased earnings, and decreased unemployment. In fact, nationally, research has found that on average, every additional bachelor’s degree provides states with a net benefit of $2,500 per person per year in increased individual-level taxes and decreased consumption of social services. Additionally, a well-educated population is associated with increased civic engagement, volunteering, happiness, life satisfaction, and better health and wellness, as well as lower incarceration rates.  

There is no question that strengthening our state starts with investing and improving our birth- post-secondary education system. 

As we look ahead to 2023 and the 103rd legislative session, Advance Illinois will support this vision for a stronger Illinois. Our focus is on ensuring more stable, adequate and equitable education funding from cradle to career, prioritizing supports for the whole child, strengthening and diversifying the educator pipeline, and putting to work more relevant data to address the impact of years of disrupted learning and development. Our agenda is big, as is the need! 

STABLE, ADEQUATE & EQUITABLE FUNDING ACROSS THE BIRTH-POSTSECONDARY (B-20) CONTINUUM  

It is vital we take a birth-postsecondary (B-20) funding approach to ensure that every part of the education and care continuum is stably, adequately and equitably funded. Every step of our education system relies on the health and success of the previous steps. K-12 students thrive when they have had access to high-quality early childhood experiences. Post-secondary students persist at higher rates when they have had a strong K-12 education. And, all students perform better when they have access to quality educators and caregivers. 

This year, we will advocate for:  

Increasing state early childhood investments by at least 20 percent.  

While Illinois has begun new efforts to improve access and quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) over the last year, there is still much work to be done. The governor’s Early Childhood Funding Commission reports that we are underfunding ECEC by roughly $12 billion. Accordingly, the state needs a long-term plan that (a) puts us on a clear path towards fully funding the system, and (b) aligns state governance and funding systems to prioritize equity and access. In the meantime, we urge the state to increase state funding for ECEC by at least 20 percent in the FY24 budget. While, alongside our partners and the field, we look forward to developing a longer-term plan, including learning more about and engaging with Governor Pritzker’s plan to expand preschool access to all families in our state and eliminate child care deserts, we need to ensure we’re making bold steps now to close the multi-billion dollar gap to full funding.  

Accelerating our path to fully-funding the Evidence-Based Formula. 

Five years into the implementation of the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula for K-12 schools, data shows that the formula is working to dramatically reduce the number of severely underfunded districts in our state. This represents meaningful progress, but the state has a long way to go with over half of Illinois’ students in districts still at or below 75% of adequacy. If we continue to add an additional $350 million each year in new funds (roughly the pace we’ve been going), it would take at least fifteen years to fully fund our schools. Parents, educators and local leaders from across the state have been raising their voices to share that Illinois students cannot wait that long. We must increase the minimum funding we add to EBF each year by at least $550M, and ensure our schools and students have a stable source funds, to get us to full funding in half the time. 

Restoring enrollment, investment, and equity in the state’s higher education system.  

Funding for higher education is fundamentally broken in Illinois. Current costs are pricing too many students out of college, especially students from low-income households and students of color. Moreover, institutions that support a high percentage of these same students are disproportionally harmed by current state funding structures. In the FY23 budget, Illinois made a significant commitment to higher education affordability by appropriating a $122 million increase for the Monetary Assistance Program (MAP), that for the first time in 20 years allowed us to support all eligible applicants. While this investment will have a substantial impact, on average, MAP still only covers 38% of public university tuition and fees. If we are serious about equitable access to post-secondary opportunities, we must increase the amount of individual grants; investing an additional $50M in MAP will build on recent progress and take us one step closer to putting college in reach for all students.      

Scholarships alone are not going to resolve our resource challenges in higher education. Decades of disinvestment have placed stress on our public universities and community colleges, impacting enrollment and programing. Therefore, in the near term, we are recommending a 7.5% increase in institutional funding that also prioritizes equitable distribution of these funds. In the long term, we are participating in the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding and Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding, to both raise awareness of these needs and help propose equity-oriented funding reform.   

HEALING-CENTERED ENVIRONMENTS  

Even before the pandemic began, the social, emotional, mental health, and trauma related needs of students in Illinois were not being fully met by school and community supports. For many students and staff, COVID-19 has only exacerbated these needs. As Illinois continues to take strides towards becoming a trauma-responsive state and leverages federal stimulus funds to invest in the resources and systems required to provide all of our young people with healing-centered communities, it’s vital that we articulate a long-term and systemic vison for this work. Last year, the Whole Child Task Force issued a set of comprehensive recommendations intended to support all schools and districts in becoming trauma-informed and healing-centered environments. This legislative session, we plan to help advance legislation that begins implementing the Task Force’s recommendations. 

STRONGER, MORE DIVERSE TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL PIPELINES  

The single most important role the state has is to ensure our students have well-prepared, capable educators, and that we give those educators the support and development they need as the world continues to throw them new and challenging curve balls. Illinois has been making thoughtful, coordinated investments to strengthen and diversify its educator pipeline, and that work has been paying off and is garnering national attention. Indeed, while Illinois continues to struggle with teacher shortages in certain subject areas and geographies, we are faring better than other states (thanks in large part to these concerted efforts). That said, these efforts must not only continue, but also expand – too many students in Illinois do not have access to fully certified, diverse teachers. Notably, the majority (about 54%) our state’s current educator pipeline investments come from short-term federal stimulus resources. As these funds begin to expire, it is critical that the state determine how to maintain and grow its comprehensive, coordinated, ambitious plan to build a stronger, more diverse educator pipeline – one that recruits and retains talented, diverse educators and closes gaps in high-need subjects and regions.  

We will continue to develop and advocate for a set of evidence-based strategies that address the entire educator pipeline from recruitment to preparation to placement and retention. This includes:  

• Supporting a $2.8 million increase (for a total of $7 million) for Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarship in order to support more teaching candidates of color, including Black male and bilingual candidates (a modest increase for an outsized impact);   

• Developing and investing in a state infrastructure (such as a unified portal) to simplify access to financial aid and licensure information;  

• Evaluating the impact of Illinois’ 2017 minimum salary legislation on our teacher pipeline; and 

• Sustaining investments in early pathways, educator induction, mentoring and development for new teachers and leaders, and alternative pathways.  

COVID-19 LEARNING RENEWAL 

The state must continue to address ongoing immediate needs, but also focus on recovery and rebuilding plans.  Research continues to highlight the impact of the last three years on students, academically and emotionally. In addition, reports from the field outline the challenging instructional conditions affecting many students, especially students from low-income households, of color, English language learners, and with special learning needs. To attend to the significant needs in our state, Illinois B-20 systems have received billions in federal education relief funds to support recovery. In order to inform and strengthen ongoing rebuilding, the state should collect and make transparent data capturing student and staff needs, the distribution and use of federal relief funds, and the impact key interventions have had across Illinois. 

Illinois continues to have the 5th highest GDP in the nation, and our current outlook is undeniably strong. We can be even stronger. If we are going to weather future ups and downs in the economy and beyond, secure our economic future while tackling some of our most stubborn systemic inequities, we must prioritize education in 2023. Where we have taken informed, coordinated, and bold action, we have seen powerful progress. Let us continue that winning strategy, now more than ever. 

Robin M. Steans

rsteans@advanceillinois.org

From the Desk of Robin Steans, Sustaining and Improving Learning Renewal Efforts in Illinois

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

More than two years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education in Illinois in ways we never could have imagined. Since then, caregivers, educators, and state and local leaders have had to respond to this crisis with limited information about what impact the pandemic has had on the resources and supports students need. While we are still collectively building this understanding, the state is gaining useful data that can and should inform learning renewal priorities moving forward. 

In our latest report, The State We’re In 2022: A Look at the Impact of COVID-19 on Education in Illinois, Advance Illinois began to unpack the pandemic’s impact on students’ access to opportunities and resources during this unprecedented time. 

What Emerging Data is Telling Us 

The results were sobering, if not surprising. Nearly every facet of education—enrollment, academic instruction, social-emotional learning, and student well-being—was profoundly impacted by the pandemic. And while the data are limited, they highlight that these disruptions were not evenly felt. Further, it is clear that things are not ‘back to normal,’ and likely will not be for a long time: 

• High Quality early childhood programs help children prepare for and succeed in K-12 grades and beyond. The significant shifts we saw in early childhood enrollment (with some programs seeing decreases of up to 20%) will likely have an impact on academic and developmental readiness as children enter kindergarten in coming years. 

• Statewide, we lost tens of thousands of students from public and private K-12 schools, and we saw an unprecedented 14 percent decrease in community college enrollment in fall 2020. And while we hope to see numbers increase this fall, in fall 2021, community college enrollment and K-12 enrollment continued to decline rather than bounce back. 

• Declining attendance and assessment scores, though incomplete, reveal significant impacts on academic progress. In 2020-2021, chronic absenteeism – a predictor of later academic achievement and graduation – increased by 3 and 5 percentage points respectively in our elementary and middle schools, driven in large part by students from low-income households, Black and Latinx students, and English Learners. If left unaddressed, these academic gaps may persist or grow over time, worsening disparities educators have worked hard to reduce. 

• Coming out of the 2020-2021 school year, and on top of disrupted academic progress, lagging social-emotional skills have made teaching and learning significantly more challenging. Despite being back in-person, educators in Illinois described the 2021-2022 school year as perhaps the most difficult they have faced so far. 

• Finally, 9th Grade On-Track rates – a powerful predictor of high school graduation - dropped from 87% to 82% in 2021, warning that without intervention, we may soon see a drop in high school graduation rates.  

Illinois' Ongoing Response 

Families, teachers, districts, and agencies across the state launched a strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic from day one. From rapidly moving curriculum online, to mobilizing to distribute digital devices, to keeping early childhood providers afloat through emergency shutdowns and restricted enrollment, and much, much more, state and local leaders and educators led a robust response early in the pandemic.  As importantly, the state provided guidance to districts and educators across the continuum on research-based strategies to address COVID impacts. In the past year, Illinois continued the effort, launching an Early Childhood enrollment campaign, investing in the expansion of the REACH pilot to support trauma-responsive schools, and launching programs like One Goal and high impact tutoring opportunities across the state.  

Moving Forward 

We cannot lose momentum now. The data makes clear that we must continue to rise to this once-in-a-century moment and maintain a long-term perspective. Moving into our third school year since the start of the pandemic, we urge the state to: 

• Develop and implement a statewide research agenda.  With federal relief funds in hand, state and local education leaders have been implementing a wide array of initiatives to meet students’ academic, social-emotional, and mental health needs. It is vital that we learn from efforts to date – not only to inform ongoing learning renewal work, but to learn and grow so that we can support the next generation to reach its full potential more effectively. The state should have a clear learning agenda, and use data to inform priorities. This involves continuing to develop our understanding of what students need as new data becomes available and maintaining investment in our state’s longitudinal data system.  

• Sustain effective learning renewal programs after federal funding lapses. All signs indicate that the impacts of the pandemic will continue to be felt far beyond the expiration of federal relief funding in 2024. Building on research and evaluation of existing learning renewal efforts, the state should be ready to identify areas that require continued investment and allocate funds to sustain programs that are making a difference for students. 

• Fully fund our B-20 education systems. Even before the pandemic hit, adequately and equitably funding education systems has proven to make a difference for kids. Illinois has made meaningful progress towards adequate funding with increases to the Early Childhood Block Grant, K-12 Evidence-Based Funding Formula, MAP grant, and institutional funding in higher education. The pandemic has only heightened the urgency of this work. While federal stimulus funds have helped state agencies and LEAs address immediate pandemic challenges, these funds are intended to be a targeted supplement to ongoing sustained investment in our programs and institutions. This year, we urge the state to increase funding for early childhood programs by 20% and invest no less than $550 million in new funds in the Evidence-Based Funding formula to support K-12 schools. In addition, we urge leaders to support a new, more equitable and sufficient funding approach to higher education.  These investments are critical to support long-term student growth and recovery. 

• Address lagging enrollment. The state has already launched a re-enrollment campaign to address dwindling numbers in Early Childhood programs. We urge the state to monitor and evaluate this program, and apply lessons learned to address re-enrollment of elementary and middle school students. A particular challenge in addressing K-12 enrollment is our inability to identify students who are being homeschooled. Creating statewide reporting requirements for families who homeschool would allow the Illinois State Board of Education to understand how many students who are not in our public and private schools are being homeschooled—and where students may be missing formal education entirely.  

• Continue to explore opportunities to use time and modality more flexibly. Students have missed crucial learning time, and providing staff and students with opportunities to make up for that time is a challenge. Districts across the state have been piloting new ways to use classroom and extended learning time. Let us learn from these efforts, not only to inform learning renewal, but also to improve our understanding of how to effectively accelerate learning for students. Similarly, we urge institutions across the B-20 continuum to identify and share areas where virtual options have made a difference and work to maintain or develop these efforts. 

• Implement recommendations coming out of the Whole Child Task Force. Student needs outside of the academic realm have only increased during the pandemic. The Whole Child Task Force has identified clear ways in which the state can better support the whole child, including adopting statewide definitions of trauma-responsive schools and districts, providing high quality training to district staff and community-based service providers, developing a community trauma index to better understand need and including student-to-support staff ratios in the Illinois State Report Card. Let us use this crisis to dramatically strengthen how we support our students. 

• Strengthen and diversify our educator pipeline. It is good news that over the past few years, districts have been able to add instructional and support positions – roles that were desperately needed pre-COVID, and even more so now. The challenge now is to continue to grow the pipeline to expand and fill these positions across the state, increasing students’ access to high quality teachers, counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Districts must continue to invest in recruitment and retention, but the state has a key role to play to grow and diversify our educator workforce by expanding high school pathways, creating real articulation between 2-year and 4-year programs, and deepening support for scholarships, innovative grow-your-own and program efforts, and ongoing induction and mentoring. 

We are on the road to recovery—but not ready to take our foot off the gas. Educators, communities, state, and local leaders have supported students in countless ways, but COVID disruptions have been far-reaching, and have exacerbated already deep inequities. It will take a long-term statewide effort to provide students, children, and families with equitable access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. Having come this far, Illinois is – and must remain – ready for the challenge. 

Robin Steans

President

From the Desk of Robin Steans, Five-Years Into EBF, There is Much to Celebrate

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Five years ago today, after focused years of fierce advocacy, the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula was signed into law. This landmark legislation overhauled Illinois’ K-12 education funding system, replacing an outdated and inequitable structure with a formula that prioritizes the state’s least well-funded districts, distributes funds based on a research-based estimate of what schools need to fully serve students, and takes into account differences in student needs across districts. Importantly, the law includes a “Minimum Funding Level” clause that requires that the state appropriate at least $350 million in additional funds for the formula each year, a commitment that has driven roughly $1.5B in new funding since the law passed. As we mark the five-year milestone of this legislation, I would like to pause and reflect on how it has transformed resource equity in Illinois, benefiting students, educators, and school communities and serving as a national model. 

Before EBF... 

In order to appreciate the full impact of the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula, we need to revisit what the state’s education funding was like before its passage. Prior to 2017, Illinois had one of the least equitable school funding formulas in the country, and one of the lowest levels of state financial support. Across the state, and as a result of our outsized reliance on local property taxes to fund schools, on average, students from low-income households were funded significantly less than their peers from wealthier districts. In fact, before EBF, over 160 Illinois school districts, serving hundreds of thousands of students, had less than 60% of the funding required to meet their needs.  And over half of the state’s districts, serving over 1.2 million students, had less than 70% of what they needed to provide sound instruction.  To put a human face on it, this meant that on a per-pupil basis, these districts had thousands of dollars less than they needed to hire teachers, counselors, reading specialists, and support personnel.  Thousands of dollars less per pupil than they needed to provide extracurriculars, fine arts, world language, and summer programming.  Thousands of dollars less per pupil than they needed to upgrade curriculum, textbooks, and buildings.  And as if that wasn’t problematic enough, decisions to prorate state funding in the years prior to EBF wound up hurting neediest districts the most.  

Put together, heading into the historic vote on whether or not the state should adopt EBF, the regressive impact of our school funding formula was clear: 

• Students from low-income households were in districts funded, on average, at 68% of adequacy. 

• Black and Latinx students were in districts funded, on average, at 68% and 69% of adequacy, while their white peers were in districts funded at 81% of adequacy. 

Leadership & Advocacy Matters 

The passage of the evidence-based formula did not happen overnight. It took years of technical analysis, significant district, educator, and community input and advocacy, and leadership from key elected officials, the Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) and the General Assembly to pass.  Critically, school districts, civil right organizations, legislators, advocacy groups, and groups representing teachers and administrators formed a powerful coalition – Funding Illinois’ Future – and made themselves heard in countless town hall meetings around the state, and in Springfield.  Indeed, the possibility of (finally!) reimagining the school funding formula to truly prioritize equity brought together arguably the most diverse – and effective – coalition of families, residents and leaders the state has ever seen.   

Since EBF... 

Data from the first five years of EBF show that the formula is working exactly as planned. As seen below, EBF is effectively driving new dollars to districts that disproportionately serve students from low-income households, students of color, and English Learners.  Because EBF calculates education costs based on student need and distributes new state dollars to school districts furthest from full funding, EBF has driven 70%-80% of new state resources in any given year to the state’s most property poor districts and those that serve the most students from low-income households.  

Since the passage of EBF through Fiscal Year (FY) 23, new tier funding through the formula has totaled $1.57 Billion. And because the formula is dynamic, EBF can and does respond to changes at the local level.  Every year, ISBE calculates a unique “Adequacy Target” for each of the more than 850 school districts. These targets reflect the cost of providing research-based components of a high-quality education, based on each district’s student characteristics. Five years in, the progress is striking –  

• There are now only 2 districts funded below 60% of adequacy. 

• As of FY23, the average percent of adequacy for students from low-income households was 77%, up from 68% in FY18. 

• Black and Latinx students average percent of adequacy was 76% and 78%, compared to 86% among their white peers – meaning that all groups have benefitted over the past five years, and the gap across groups has decreased.

For further discussion of EBF’s positive impact, the Professional Review Panel recently released a 5-year evaluative study detailing the impact of new funding, and it is worth a read.  

The road ahead... 

While significant progress has been made, this progress is only possible when the state invests adequate new funds through the formula each year. Illinois has done an impressive job getting more districts (and students) closer to adequate funding.  That said, roughly 200 districts serving over 460,000 students are still at or below 70% of adequacy. Over half of Illinois students are still in districts at or below 75% of adequacy. And nearly eight in 10 students attend districts below 90% of adequacy.  As we begin this new school year, the gap between current funding levels and full and adequate funding is $6.7 billion.  If the state continues to invest $350M in EBF each year,2 it will take another 20 years – until 2042 (!) -- to get all districts to at least 90% adequacy. If Illinois is going to realize the full benefit of EBF and keep its commitment to provide children across the state an adequate and equitable education, we will need to raise our sights and invest more new dollars each year – more than the minimum of $350M.   

Passing EBF in 2017 was not only a huge step forward for Illinois students, it was a reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together around powerful ideas.  As we reflect on the first five years of EBF and the significant progress we have made in that time, let us also commit to the next five years, knowing that we can and must continue to take bold action.  

Robin Steans

President

We encourage you to read these two other perspectives highlighting the significance EBF has had on IL students and our state.

From the Desk of Robin Steans - A Reflection on the 102nd Session – Celebrating and Appreciating Putting Students’ Needs First

9 min read

From the Desk: A Reflection on the 102nd Session – Celebrating and Appreciating Putting Students’ Needs First

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is said that budgets reflect priorities, and Illinois’ FY23 budget reflects an ongoing commitment to supporting Illinois schools and institutions, as well as the significant educational recovery and renewal needs brought on by the pandemic. It is hard to imagine, but this was the third legislative session impacted by COVID-19, and in January, it was far from clear how it would proceed. Early fiscal forecasts seemed promising, but with the omicron surge, conflict in Ukraine, rising inflation, and more, things were anything but certain. With tremendous leadership from both chambers and the governor's office, Illinois passed a balanced budget – early, and with clear wins for children, students and educators. In addition to the budget, we also saw thoughtful and targeted efforts to address short- and long-term needs related to the pandemic, the educator pipeline, and efforts to double down on supporting students to complete high school college and career ready. 

FY23 BUDGET

As we shared in our initial statement, there are many things to celebrate in this budget. Increases in funding for the state’s higher education system (public 4-year institutions, community colleges, and a stunning increase to MAP scholarships), Evidence-Based Funding, educator pipeline (including Educators Rising and Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarships), and some early childhood and care programs (Early Childhood Block Grant, Early Intervention, and home visiting) represent a clear commitment to increasing access and equity across the birth through postsecondary (B-20) education continuum.  

The budget also reflects the collective voices of parents, educators, students, and Illinoisans from communities throughout the state. Coalition members of We, The Village sent more than 4,300 letters to state legislators calling for increased investment in early childhood and care. The Funding Illinois’ Future coalition brought together district leaders, parents, caregivers, educators, and civil rights organizations from rural, suburban and urban communities to speak with a united voice to increase funding for EBF. Members of the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Advocacy Team, which included civil rights and faith-based organizations, universities, educator leadership, and advocacy groups, actively engaged decision-makers to ensure aspiring educators of color have increased access to funding. And members of the recently created Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding mobilized their communities and advocated for increased MAP funding. People made noise and were heard!

That said, there were some disappointments. I would be remiss not to note the lack of additional investment in certain early childhood and care programs. The governor's Early Childhood Funding Commission outlined the need for an additional $10 billion to be invested in our early childhood and care system. That’s a big hill to climb, and together with partners, we pushed for a 10 percent across-the-board increase to begin this important journey. The increases that occurred are important and appreciated. But some critical programs, including childcare, received just a fraction of the ask or were flat-funded. We now know what it costs to truly meet the needs of Illinois’ children and families, close equity and opportunity gaps, and pay our early childhood workforce at a rate commensurate with the value of their work and sufficient to attract and keep staff. We need to do even more to make up valuable ground.

LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS

Though the budget stole the show, a number of bills passed that will impact education. The vast majority reflect a healthy balance of addressing immediate needs, planning for the future, and codifying policies that support access. Here are a few highlights:

Early childhood education and care awareness and services

Early childhood education and care-related bills that passed this session include efforts to extend child care (CCAP) and Early Intervention (EI) services to some of our most vulnerable children in the child welfare system; ensure families receive EI services in a timely fashion; and require that postsecondary students receive notification of child care services and eligibility. All of these reflect important steps in increasing access to vital services for our youngest children.

Addressing the teacher shortage

Some sensible bills passed that provide immediate and targeted relief around the teacher shortage. These include efforts to increase the availability of substitutes and paraprofessionals, as well as short-term relief on some professional development requirements required for licensure renewal. Given the immediate staffing challenges schools are facing, these flexibilities strike the right balance of providing immediate support while not compromising Illinois’ efforts to grow a strong and diverse educator workforce.

Planning for the future

Additionally, resolutions passed on key topics that we know the state is going to have to tackle over the next few years. These types of efforts help us work smarter and make informed decisions. For example, 10 years into implementation, SR774 calls on the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) to review research and data on the implementation of our educator evaluation system (PERA) and make recommendations for ongoing improvements. SR900/HR722, charges ISBE and the Professional Review Panel (or PRP) to continue building upon recent findings to analyze and understand the potential costs and implications to EBF. Both of these resolutions allow the state to review critical policies in a coherent, rather than piecemeal or anecdotal, fashion.

College and Career Readiness

On another front, several bills passed that build on and expand elements of the Post-Secondary Workforce Readiness Act, including efforts to expand dual credit as well as accelerate the implementation of postsecondary and career expectations framework, and Career Ready Endorsement/Pathway programs across the state.

Data to inform decision making 

Finally, legislation passed prohibiting ISBE from requiring a standardized assessment in Pk-2nd grade, or from providing or funding assessments on an optional basis.  We supported the main goal of the bill, which was to prohibit required assessments in the early grades or to use them for accountability purposes. But we would have liked to see the bill amended to permit optional support from ISBE for interested districts who would benefit from financial help and/or assessment expertise that they do not have in-house. Importantly, the bill exempts certain diagnostic assessments and observational assessments, like language or dyslexia screeners and KIDS. 

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION BILL (BIMP)

In true Springfield fashion, the budget implementation bill (also known as the BIMP) included some impactful legislative changes and requirements.  

• Legislators raised the maximum grant size for Illinois’ signature scholarship program (MAP) from $6,468 to $8,508 and expanded the program to include career and technical certificates and credentials. This is obviously terrific news for affordability and accessibility. 

• Starting January 1, 2023, tax credits for teachers/school staff purchasing instructional materials will be raised from $250 to $500. This is in addition to legislation allowing for a 10-day sale tax reduction for school supplies and a one-time tax rebate for dependents.  

• And not to be missed, ISBE is required to take action to correct an error in how enrollment was calculated in EBF for the Chicago Public Schools in FY19-21 by both fixing the miscalculations moving forward (thereby adjusting adequacy targets and base funding minimums) and retroactively addressing impacts to other districts.  

• The BIMP also directs the agency to work outside of the formula and provide one-time “Significant Loss” grants to certain eligible districts that may see a significant drop in their local contribution, a direction made on top of legislative changes designed to systemically ease the impact of dramatic changes in local revenues.  

All told, this session was marked by a budget that reflected student needs, with a focus on equity and access, and it is worth pausing to celebrate and appreciate. But we cannot rest. A great deal of work remains to ensure that all students, from birth to career, have sufficient resources, excellent educators, and system-wide support for success. The full and long-term impacts of the pandemic on our education community are still emerging, and the only thing that is crystal clear is that we will (and should) be addressing them for years to come.

Robin Steans

President

From the Desk of Robin Steans - Making 2022 A Better, Stronger Year for Our Students

7 min read

From the Desk: Making 2022 A Better, Stronger Year for Our Students

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

While 2021 had its share of ups and downs, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge or celebrate the advances made last year. Though COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact on our communities, new vaccines for students 5 years old and older mean they are now better protected from some of the toughest physical effects of the virus. In addition, Springfield took some helpful steps. The General Assembly did the right thing and appropriated $350 million to the Evidence-Based Funding formula for FY22, invested federal funds to strengthen and expand the early childhood workforce, and in November, the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding launched, with the charge of helping Illinois make equitable investments in Higher Education.    

This year, Advance Illinois will focus on supporting more adequate and equitable funding from cradle to career, helping strengthen and diversify the educator pipeline, focusing on mental health for students and educators, gathering and putting to work more relevant data, and addressing the impact and implications of two years of disrupted learning and care. 

ADEQUATE & EQUITABLE FUNDING ACROSS THE BIRTH-POSTSECONDARY (B-20) CONTINUUM 

It is vital we take a birth-postsecondary (B-20) funding approach to ensure that every part of the education and care continuum is adequately and equitably funded. Every step of our education system relies on the health and success of the previous steps. K-12 students thrive when they have had access to high-quality early childhood experiences. Post-secondary students persist at higher rates when they have had a strong K-12 education. And, all students perform better when they have access to quality educators and caregivers. While funding is not the only answer to what ails public education in Illinois, years of under-investment and inequitable investment – from early childhood through higher education – take their toll on student achievement and progress.   

This year, we will advocate for: 

Increasing state early childhood investments by at least 10 percent. 

While Illinois has begun new efforts to improve access and quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) over the last year, there is still much work to be done. The governor’s own Commission reports that we are underfunding ECEC by roughly $12 billion. Accordingly, the state needs a long-term plan to put it on a path towards adequacy. In the meantime, the alarm has been sounded, and we urge the state to increase state funding for the ECEC system and individual early childhood programs by at least 10 percent in the FY23 state budget. Such an increase would put Illinois on a path to closing the demonstrable resource gap in early childhood as we develop a longer-term plan. 

Fully-funding the Evidence-Based Formula (EBF). 

Since EBF passed in 2017, the data show that the formula is working as intended. Nonetheless, over 300 districts in Illinois still fall at or below 70 percent of adequacy. The state has committed to putting at least an additional $350 million into the formula every year for ten years. After failing to do so in FY21, the state got back on track by fully funding EBF in FY22. In FY23, Illinois must maintain its commitment to Illinois’ students by continuing to fund the formula. Federal relief funds have been a lifeline to our schools and communities, helping address the immediate impacts of the pandemic. These one-time funds, however, cannot and should not replace EBF dollars that enable schools to build the foundation for long-term, stable instruction, and programming for students.  We ask legislators to recommit to reaching 90% funding by 2030 by putting at least $350 million into EBF in FY23 and reviewing findings from the Professional Review Panel detailing possible avenues for making the formula even more equitable.  

Restoring enrollment, investment, and equity in the state’s higher education system. 

Currently, the state awards Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants to fewer than half of those who apply, and the award covers just a fraction of the costs of attending college. This reality is pricing too many students out of our higher education system, especially students from low-income households and students of color. Undergraduate enrollment in community colleges and public four-year institutions has dropped significantly over the past 5 years, with community college enrollment dropping precipitously since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. After years of disinvestment, Illinois must evaluate what level of investment is required and how to equitably distribute funds to ensure our higher education system and students get the support they need. We will continue to champion a $50 million increase in MAP as well as much-needed additional institutional funding and its equitable distribution. And while we push for funding in the short term, we fight for long-term solutions by being active participants on (1) the Commission as recommendations are developed and (2) in the Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding, where we will raise awareness of the need for equity-oriented reform.   

A STRONGER, MORE DIVERSE TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL PIPELINE 

Many parts of Illinois are facing acute teacher shortages, particularly in special education and bilingual education. Years of underinvestment, program cuts, and piecemeal policy responses are making themselves felt. Now is the time to intensify state support for a comprehensive, coordinated, ambitious plan to build a stronger, more diverse educator pipeline – one that recruits and retains talented, diverse educators and closes gaps in high-need subjects and regions. 

We will continue to develop and advocate for a set of evidence-based strategies that address the entire educator pipeline from recruitment to preparation to placement and retention. This includes: 

• Supporting a $2.35 million increase (for a total of $4.25 million) for Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarships in order to support more teaching candidates of color, including Black male and bilingual candidates (a modest increase for an outsized impact);  

• Funding for High School Education Pathways and loan forgiveness to recruit candidates to areas and subjects of need;  

• Expanding proven alternative pathways; 

• Developing and investing in a state infrastructure (such as a unified portal) to simplify access to financial aid and licensure information; and 

• Supporting an investment of $6.5 million in educator induction, mentoring and development for new teachers 

We will also continue to support regular and substantive feedback for teachers and principals together with thoughtful licensure, even as we consider and respond to changing and challenging circumstances. Ten years in, it is clear that the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA), which calls for more substantive feedback for teachers and principals, has led to more robust conversations about classroom instruction and practice, as intended. If there are also adjustments to consider, let’s do so collectively, and in a way that builds on important progress. Additionally, as we continue to build and strengthen the pipeline, let’s review current teacher training requirements to make sure we are maximizing valuable professional development time.  

The single most important thing we can do for students is provide well-prepared, capable educators and give them the support and development they need as the world continues to throw them new and challenging curve balls. Headed into the pandemic, we started to see improvements in the diversity of and enrollment in teacher and principal preparation programs. Let’s deepen and expand our efforts. 

COVID-19 LEARNING RECOVERY 

We are still very much in the midst of a pandemic that continues to severely disrupt our system of education and care, and the situation is far from over. Illinois must not only continue to address ongoing, immediate needs, but also attend to recovery and rebuilding. The research continues to show the impact the past two years is having on children and students, academically and emotionally. Reports from the field also show challenging instructional conditions, especially among students from low-income households, of color, English-language learners, and diverse learners. Illinois has received billions in federal education relief funds to support recovery. We must collect information and data that accurately captures the depth and breadth of need, as well as how these federal resources are being invested and the ongoing impact of these supports. We have a powerful opportunity to learn from and strengthen interventions and practice, to not only better meet student needs, but to truly “build back better.” We encourage a strong research and reporting plan, and urge policymakers and practitioners to take advantage of the P-20 Council plan for learning recovery and student/educator well-being. Finally, we look forward to reviewing findings and recommendations from the Whole Child Task Force for ideas on how we can use this moment to fundamentally re-imagine and strengthen student (and educator) supports. 

As we all can probably agree, the past 22 months have been extremely difficult, and there are only inadequate words for the teachers and leaders who have supported children and students through once-in-a-century challenges. We are committed to fighting for the resources and supports needed for the work ahead this year and beyond. 

Robin Steans

President