State Government

The new law, signed Wednesday by Gov. JB Pritzker, also requires school districts to collect data on how many students have been referred to local law enforcement.

The new law, called Safe Schools for All, creates protections upheld in a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, which said all students are afforded access to a free and public education, regardless of immigration status.

The Illinois State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve new cut scores for the ACT, the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, and the Illinois Science Assessment. The changes will boost the percentage of students considered proficient — but will make comparisons to past years nearly impossible.

The cut scores for English language arts and math will be lowered, resulting in more students labeled as proficient, while science cut scores will go up, resulting in fewer students being considered proficient.

Due to a drop in local tax revenue and a bump in English learner enrollment, Chicago Public Schools will receive an additional $76 million from the state. Earlier this year, district officials anticipated a $25 million increase from the state.

State lawmakers said they’re ready to collaborate with the Chicago school board to find funding solutions, but did not commit to a special session or additional education funding.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon signed by 16 other governors calling the freeze of federal funds “a failure to fulfill the Department’s most basic responsibility.”

A new report looks at Illinois students who graduated high school between 2008 and 2012 and their education, career, and earning outcomes. Students who obtained a college degree made more money, but disparities in education and career outcomes persist.

Illinois lawmakers proposed a bill that would have required parents to notify school districts if they were going to homeschool their children. But opponents called it “draconian” and vowed to keep fighting it.

Congress approved the support for English learners and afterschool programs. But the dollars expected on July 1 are now on hold, creating ‘unnecessary uncertainty,’ Sanders says.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers were hoping to pass a bill requiring school districts to create a policy limiting the use of the devices in class this spring. But it stalled in the House.

Illinois lawmakers finalized the fiscal year 2026 budget hours before the end of the spring legislative session. Here is what they agreed to allocate to education.

The bill requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create guidance around establishing and expanding dual language programs across the state.

Illinois lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that will allow school districts to decide whether they want to use students’ test scores in teacher, principal, and assistant principal evaluations. This would end a requirement that schools must tie teachers’ performance to students’ success.

State education officials are considering changing the state’s testing system at a time when students’ scores still lag behind pre-pandemic results.

The Illinois legislative session is scheduled to end on May 31. Lawmakers are considering several education bills and negotiating the fiscal year 2024 budget. Here is what Chalkbeat is following.

A presentation used to brief school board members and obtained by Chalkbeat outlined potential cuts, many of which include staff and programs supported by federal COVID relief money. District officials and school board members look to lobby City Hall and Illinois lawmakers for funding.

U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a lawmaker from Illinois, along with other Democratic lawmakers, want the U.S. Department of Education to reverse track on firings in office that serve English learners.

Illinois' switch back to the ACT has been a bumpy ride. On April 8, a technical glitch prevented 11,000 students from finishing the exam on the same day.

The U.S. Department of Education demanded states certify that they are not promoting “illegal DEI” programs. The Illinois schools chief challenged the department to define which programs are illegal.