Statements
Please find our latest statements below.
Advance Illinois Responds to Governor Pritzker’s Proposed FY22 Budget
CHICAGO, IL – Illinois faces serious budgetary challenges, which have been exacerbated by the dramatic impact of COVID-19. It will not be easy to address the many and varied issues that pre-existed the pandemic and have been compounded by it.
Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, IL – Illinois faces serious budgetary challenges, which have been exacerbated by the dramatic impact of COVID-19. It will not be easy to address the many and varied issues that pre-existed the pandemic and have been compounded by it.
Governing is hard, and we do not envy the governor or members of the General Assembly who have difficult decisions to make. While we understand the competing pressures on the state’s limited resources and applaud additional funding for MAP grants, it is nonetheless disappointing that the proposed budget contains cuts for some early childhood programs, and, for the second year in a row, calls for mostly flat funding across the education continuum, including no new funds for the Evidence-Based Formula (EBF).
There is nothing easy about the coming year’s budget, and we believe Governor Pritzker is committed to increasing education funding for early childhood education and care, K-12and higher education. And this we know: education is the single most important investment we can make in our children and our future. It’s why we passed the Evidenced-Based Funding formula five years ago, and it’s why we committed as a state to put at least $350 million new dollars into that formula every year for ten years.
No one could have foreseen COVID-19 and the growing impacts of the pandemic, and it has unquestionably made it harder to keep this commitment. It also has made the road ahead harder for all children and deepened already unacceptable racial, economic, and regional disparities.
Federal funds meant to facilitate school reopening and early recovery will help. But make no mistake, relief dollars are needed to address immediate and ongoing COVID-19-related issues such as health and safety measures, closing the digital divide to permit all children access to virtual learning, and short-term efforts to provide additional academic, social and emotional supports. These one-time federal funds are not meant to support the deeper ongoing staffing and programmatic investments that are needed to drive student success into the future. The same holds true for early childhood education and care, universities and community colleges.
We are heartened to hear that legislators plan to prioritize education funding. Our children’s futures require dependable and growing investments, and they are counting on us to keep our promises now more than ever. As circumstances continue to evolve, we urge the General Assembly to exhaust every means possible to uphold the state’s commitment to not only maintain education funding, but to continue to grow it for children birth through career.
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.
Advance Illinois Applauds Passage of HB2170, Education Omnibus Bill
CHICAGO, IL – Advance Illinois applauds the leadership of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in passing HB2170. HB2170, also known as the Education Omnibus Bill, represents an important step in advancing racial equity in Illinois' education system
Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, IL – Advance Illinois applauds the leadership of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in passing HB2170. HB2170, also known as the Education Omnibus Bill, represents an important step in advancing racial equity in Illinois' education system. As a whole, the bill is designed to increase educational access and opportunities for Black students, other students of color and students from low-income households throughout the state.
As part of the Black Caucus’ ambitious agenda, which also tackles criminal justice reform, health care and human services reform and expansion of economic opportunity in Illinois, HB2170 focuses on policies that address the longstanding racial injustices in our birth to career education system. Under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford and Representative Carol Ammons, members of the Black Caucus, along with education and racial justice advocates, worked together to develop a comprehensive legislative package to advance racial equity in Illinois’ early childhood programs, schools and higher education institutions. From supporting the goals of the Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding to automatic enrollment for qualified students in advanced courses to amending the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarship program to prioritize Black male candidates and diversify the teacher pipeline, this legislation seeks to ensure that high-quality education is the norm and not the exception for all students, especially Black students.
"The passage of HB2170 serves as an important step toward educational equity for Black students in Illinois,” says Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois. “I am heartened the Illinois Senate and House passed this legislation, taking action on issues that will foster significant change and advancement for our students.”
Steans continues, “We congratulate Sen. Lightford, Rep. Ammons and the ILBC for their leadership. Their tireless work was key in galvanizing support and input from advocates and experts and carrying the bill over the finish line. While there is still work to be done, the measures it contains are a critical step to ensuring students of color and students from low-income households will have access to the high-quality education they deserve.”
Advance Illinois prepared a summary of key articles within HB2170 and other education-related bills passed by the general assembly.
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.
Advance Illinois Statement on the New Illinois Educator Preparation Profile System
CHICAGO, IL – Starting in 2015, ISBE leadership brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to create a tool that would, for the first time, shed light on the workings and impact of Illinois’ teacher and principal preparation programs.
Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, IL – Starting in 2015, ISBE leadership brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to create a tool that would, for the first time, shed light on the workings and impact of Illinois’ teacher and principal preparation programs. While much is known about the outcomes of our PK-12 system and is publicly available online, there has not been a central source for information about the diversity, systems and outcomes of our state’s teacher and principal preparation programs. After years of hard work, this week ISBE launched the Illinois Educator Preparation Profile (IEPP) interactive tool. This new interactive tool provides a comprehensive window into all approved educator preparation programs across Illinois. Better still, it presents a range of relevant data in a user-friendly format.
Having helped shepherd the planning along the way, Advance Illinois is delighted that the new profiles are now available to students, policymakers and leaders of preparation programs alike. With more than 50 Illinois colleges and universities offering more than 700 teacher preparation programs, IEPP will serve as a significant tool in recognizing and supporting programs that produce the diverse and learner-ready teachers that our students deserve. It will also permit policymakers to better understand areas of strength and growth, as we work as a state to make deeper and smarter investments in our educator pipeline. We congratulate ISBE and the many educators, principals, teachers, higher education leaders and others who put in years of work to launch the Profile, and ultimately, make it a success. Used wisely, the IEPP is an additional tool to build an educator pipeline in Illinois that continuously improves to become stronger, more diverse and equitable for all.
At Advance Illinois, we would like to extend our gratitude to parents, educators and workers on the front-lines as they have gone above and beyond to serve their students and their communities. Together, we will work to help ensure a successful future for each student.
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.
Advance Illinois Statement on Illinois P-20 Council and EdSystems Framework Report
CHICAGO, IL (November 19, 2020) - Students and educators across the state continue engaging in various methods of learning and adjusting in real-time as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages through our communities with no end in sight.
Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, IL (November 19, 2020) - Students and educators across the state continue engaging in various methods of learning and adjusting in real-time as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages through our communities with no end in sight. And, it is clear that the circumstances have made information gathering much more difficult for the state, districts and educators at a time when it is most needed.
The recent report A Framework and Resources for Measuring Student Needs and Development During Remote and Blended Learning by the Illinois P-20 Council and EdSystems provides insight and resources from local and national practitioners and thought leaders on what information schools and districts might find helpful at this time and strategies for gathering it in a way that meets the very different circumstances on the ground. We hope this is a timely resource for our state during these unparalleled times. The report compiles input gathered by the P-20 Council’s Data, Assessment and Accountability (DAA) Committee and is informed by focus groups and roundtables with teachers and administrators. Many thanks to EdSystems for their support in researching and preparing this resource.
Our students are counting on us to give them the best educational experience possible, and we must deliver. The social, emotional, health and academic impacts of this crisis are significant and will undoubtedly be felt for years to come.
At Advance Illinois, we would like to extend our gratitude to parents, educators and workers on the front-lines as they have gone above and beyond to serve their students and their communities. Together, we will work to help ensure a successful future for each student.
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.
Advance Illinois Statement Regarding the Illinois State Board of Education 2020 Illinois Report Card
CHICAGO, IL (October 30, 2020) - Today, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2020 Illinois Report Card.
Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org
CHICAGO, IL (October 30, 2020) - Today, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2020 Illinois Report Card. On behalf of Advance Illinois, president Robin Steans shares the following statement:
“First, I want to applaud ISBE for its transparency and honesty in this year’s report card. We all can agree that 2020 has been a year unlike any other. We know that regardless of best efforts, COVID-19 has made gathering essential data an uphill battle. Advance Illinois commends ISBE for compiling, analyzing, and reporting as much data as possible from the disrupted 2019-2020 school year and for laying out so clearly what data is missing and/or compromised.
There are notable accomplishments in this year’s report card. We applaud the state on its ongoing efforts to integrate new data elements such as Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) and another year of school-level financial data.
As disruptions to in-person learning are ongoing, there is an urgent need to gather the data necessary to understand the pandemic’s effects on Illinois students. In the 2019-20 school year, the state received a federal waiver and understandably did not administer the end of year state assessment this past spring. Looking ahead, we run the risk of another year of massive social, emotional, and academic impact and an even greater need for information we can use to understand how students have been affected and how we can most equitably respond to their needs. We appreciate ISBE’s ongoing work to gather as much data as possible under the circumstances and salute them in their efforts.”
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.