Advance Illinois Statement on the Illinois State Board of Education FY24 Budget Recommendation

Today the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved and sent to Governor Pritzker recommendations for the FY24 Budget. While Advance Illinois commends ISBE for taking steps to ensure Illinois students, from early childhood through high school, have the care and education they need to thrive and succeed, today’s proposed budget didn’t go far enough.  

ISBE’s proposals of a $350 million increase for Evidence-Based Funding for Illinois’ K-12 and an increase of 10 percent for the state’s early learning and care represent critical investments in our public education system and the students and families it serves. Still, the voices of parents, teachers, school and district leaders, and community members were clear during ISBE’s budget hearings and public comment today; more funding than this is needed to ensure every student has access to high-quality education and care.  

Over the past five years, the Evidence-Based Funding formula has proven to be a successful tool for increasing funding in K-12 schools while driving resources to the most underfunded districts. To date, Illinois has invested nearly $1.6 million in new tier funding and drastically reduced the number of severely underfunded schools in Illinois, becoming a national model in the process.  

Despite the progress that has been made, however, there is still a long way to go. In FY23, over one million students -- half of the state’s students - are still in districts funded below 75% of what they need. If ISBE’s recommendation of a $350 million investment in EBF moves forward, it will take two decades from the passage EBF to fully fund our schools. That’s a departure from the state’s goal to fully fund EBF within 10 years from when the formula passed in 2017. More importantly, for a generation that has been buffeted by unprecedented challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, it delays a promise the state made to students; their futures won’t wait. Illinois must increase its investment to an annual appropriation of at least $550 million each year to achieve full funding within 10 years.  

In addition, the research is clear—a high-quality early childhood education matters and is directly linked to success later in life. Adequate, equitable state funding for early childhood education and care, as well as for K-12 and higher education, is therefore critically important to Illinois being able to provide such opportunities. It is why Advance Illinois commended the Governor’s Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding and its recommendations to both better and more equitably fund the entire early childhood education and care system. We know a 10 percent increase in funding for FY24 is simply not enough to make tangible inroads on these recommendations and meet the Governor’s goal of universal pre-kindergarten, closing childcare deserts, creating more equitable, streamlined and strategic funding and governance, and generally becoming the best place in the nation to raise children. Illinois must start building a path towards fully funding early childhood by increasing appropriations by 20 percent for FY24.  

Finally, while we appreciate its work and leadership to date, we were disappointed to see that ISBE proposed no new funds for developing and supporting a quality and diverse education pipeline. Given that Illinois continues to struggle with a teacher shortage in high-need areas and geographies, we know that targeted and stable investments into key programs and areas will help ensure all children and students have access to a prepared and qualified educator.  

We thank ISBE for its work to champion continued investments in Illinois’ students and children through its budget recommendation, and now look ahead to Governor Pritzker’s budget recommendation this February. On the road to learning more about the governor’s priorities for Illinois for FY24, we’re calling on Governor Pritzker to remember his campaign promises and keep our students and children front and center with the level of investment they need and deserve and that our state can well support. 

Advance Illinois Statement on the Illinois State Board of Education 2022 Illinois State Report Card and 2022 NAEP Results

Contact: 
Eucarol Juarez

communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (October 27, 2022) - Today, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2022 Illinois Report Card. The results, paired with recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, confirm the historic and profound impact the events and disruptions of the past two years have had on all students, especially students from low-income households, Black and Latinx students.  What we are seeing in this newest round of data are setbacks that go far beyond normal fluctuations. And while both reports include some good news, the hard reality is that it is going to take significant and sustained support, investment, and effort to ensure all students have what they need to thrive. 

It is good news that freshman on track rates and graduation rates improved over the past year (to 86.6% and 87.3% respectively), and even better news that those increases were driven by gains among students who are Black, Latinx, and from low-income households.  It suggests that schools are working hard to engage and support students, and we applaud them.  But in districts across the state, chronic absenteeism – typically a powerful predictor of later academic success – has risen alarmingly (to 30%), especially among Black (48%), Latinx (36%), and students from low-income households (43%).   Academic proficiency also dropped significantly on the Illinois Assessments of Readiness (IAR) and SAT across demographics, and across the state.  While 2021 results previewed these declines, low participation rates made it hard to draw firm conclusions.  This new 2022 data, coupled with NAEP results, paints a much clearer and troubling picture – that students have been deeply impacted by disrupted and lost instructional time, in addition to broader loss, economic dislocation and trauma. 

It will be tempting to take comfort in the fact that fourth graders held steady in Reading and Math on the 2022 NAEP (something very few states can boast), and that Illinois students beat national averages in Math and Reading at both the fourth and eighth grade levels for the first time. And student growth numbers suggest that for many students, academic learning began rebounding in 2022.  This is better news than we might have expected. But steady NAEP proficiency in fourth grade overall masks the fact that disparities in outcomes grew by race and income, and this widening gap mirrors growing disparities on the IAR and SAT.  Taken together, the data underscores how deeply Illinois students have been impacted, how serious our equity gaps are, and, like other states, that Illinois must maintain efforts to accelerate learning generally, and intensify supports for students of color and from low-income households who have been most impacted by disrupted schooling, community trauma, and loss. 

Finally, it is worth noting that enrollment of recent graduates into postsecondary studies continues to decline, and we have not yet re-engaged all the K-12 students we lost in 2021.  In addition, we await release of the state’s kindergarten readiness data (Kindergarten Individual Development Survey), which will provide a window into how our youngest learners have been affected by pandemic-related declines in early childhood access and opportunity. 

There are indeed some bright spots in the two reports.  We can, will, and should celebrate them, as they underscore the level and impact of renewal work around the state in the wake of once-in-a-century health, safety, economic and social challenges.  But we should not lose sight of the bottom line.  Our students have been impacted in historic ways.  Our response and support – already underway and showing some early promise – must continue to be every bit as powerful and historic. 

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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 and advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org 

Advance Illinois Statement on the Practice of Police Ticketing Illinois Students for Misbehavior in School

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (April 29, 2022) -  We want to bring to your attention a serious issue that was recently profiled in an investigative article by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune as well as by a response from Dr. Carmen Ayala/ISBE. The article and letter outlined the practice of police ticketing students for misbehavior ranging from truancy to vaping to fighting.  While state law prohibits schools from imposing fines for misbehavior, it does not explicitly prohibit schools from alerting the police, who in turn issue tickets.  It turns out that many districts have reverted to this practice.  In addition to the hefty fees involved, this process brings students and families to court or administrative hearings (resulting in missed school and work) and creates legal records which cannot be expunged.

Many schools are reporting increasingly disruptive student behavior in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we appreciate the efforts educators are making to respond to challenging circumstances at a time when everyone’s mental health and well-being are frayed.  That said, we urge you to read the ProPublica/Chicago Tribune article, as well as the letter from State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala.  In particular, we hope parents and school personnel will consider the alternatives and resources listed in the letter that the state is making available to strengthen schools’ ability to respond to disruptive behavior by addressing underlying issues in a way that leads to longer-term peace, increased student belonging, and well-being. 

This is a trying time for everyone. It is critical that we focus on and address the issues underlying student behavior in a way that supports healthy child development, that we give schools as many tools and resources as possible to do so, and that we share successful examples of local efforts to provide services that address the root causes of students’ disruptive behavior and lead to improvements in how students interact with others.

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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 FY23 State Budget

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (April 9, 2022) - The Illinois General Assembly has passed a budget that invests critical funds in crucial parts of our education continuum.

There are many things to celebrate in this budget, especially when it comes to our state’s education system. Increased funding for the state’s higher education system is way overdue, and we are elated the budget includes a historic increase of $122 million to MAP grants, the state’s flagship scholarship program for college students. This increase should allow the state to grant aid to virtually every eligible student who applies while increasing average individual awards. This investment provides desperately needed support, especially for students from low-income households and students of color for whom the pandemic has seriously jeopardized postsecondary affordability and success.  

Additionally, we are encouraged to see an investment of $4.2 million for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship. This investment will help address our state’s teacher shortage and support more teaching candidates of color, including Black male and bilingual aspiring teachers. 

We are also pleased to see the continued investment of an additional $350 million for Evidence-Based Funding (EBF). The formula is working to close funding equity gaps across our state, and this investment will help ensure we continue to make progress at a time when student need has never been greater.  

Finally, it is good news that the state is increasing its investment in the Early Childhood Block Grant ($54.4 million) as well as in Early Intervention (EI) ($7 million) and home visiting (roughly $1 million) programs. That said, given the historic challenges our early childhood and care system has endured, we believe there is more work to be done and encourage greater investments going forward. 

Bottom line, Governor Pritzker has proposed and the General Assembly has passed a budget that prioritizes students. Given the events of the day and challenges our young people face, this is both the right and necessary thing to do. Again, we applaud our elected officials and look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to continue to close equity gaps.

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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 Responds to Governor Pritzker’s Proposed FY23 Budget

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (February 2, 2022) - We are delighted to see a proposed budget that is fiscally responsible, plays no games with federal funds, and includes powerful and needed investments across the entire birth through postsecondary (B-20) continuum. Students across the state, from early learners to college students, will find things to cheer in the governor’s proposed budget, and we appreciate his efforts to support students across the system.

While there is much to commend in the governor’s proposed education budget, we are especially pleased with the proposed 5 percent increase for our state’s public institutions of higher education and community colleges in FY22, and the whopping $122 million proposed increase to the state’s flagship scholarship program – its MAP grants. An increase of this magnitude will allow the state to help nearly every eligible student who applies, even as it allows the state to increase average individual awards. This change is good for the future of the state and extends serious support to students from low-income households and students of color at a time when COVID-19 has put postsecondary affordability and success in real peril.  

In addition, we applaud the governor’s proposal to increase support for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship to $4.2 million, an investment which will help address the teacher shortage in our state while supporting more teaching candidates of color, including Black male and bilingual candidates. 

It is also terrific and important to see the governor propose an additional $350 million for Evidence-Based Funding, an investment that makes good on the state’s commitment to closing deep funding inequities at a time when student need has never been greater.  

Finally, we applaud the recommended 10 percent (or $54 million) increase in the Early Childhood Block Grant. That said, we hope the General Assembly will find ways to make additional (and complementary) investments in Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Home Visiting (HV) and Early Intervention (EI) programs. We know there is much work to be done to close the resource gap in the ECEC system and individual early childhood programs and look forward to seeing what more can be done to address this issue. 

Overall, this budget demonstrates Governor Pritzker’s commitment to ensuring that all Illinois students, from birth through career, receive the quality education they so richly deserve. We now look to the General Assembly to do its part to invest in a flourishing public education system in Illinois.  

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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.