Statements
Please find our latest statements below.
Advance Illinois Full Statement on Equitable Funding Commission Recommendations
Advance Illinois applauds the Commission on Equitable Public University for releasing a blueprint for how Illinois can realize an adequate, equitable, and sustainable approach to support its public universities.
“This blueprint represents more than two years of analyzing the complexities of higher education funding,” said Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois and a member of the Commission. “These recommendations reflect deep research, analysis and listening to the field undertaken by Commissioners, and we think this charts a strong, equitable path forward for students and the institutions that serve them.”
Established in 2021, the Commission was created by PA 102-0570 in response to significant disparities in college access, affordability, and degree attainment that exist across universities, and across demographic lines of geography, race, ethnicity, and income. The 33-member Commission of agency heads, legislators, university leaders, and community partners were charged with developing a model for funding the state’s public universities in an adequate, equitable, and stable manner. As rightly highlighted in the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s strategic plan (A Thriving Illinois), such an approach is fundamental to cultivating a healthier university system where strong outcomes follow sufficient, equitable, and predictable state investment in institutions.
Under the proposed new approach, the state would use a new methodology to determine how much funding each institution needs to serve its student population and run its unique set of programs. Once this “adequacy target” has been identified, new state funds would be directed to the state's public universities in an effort to help those institutions furthest from adequacy close those gaps. According to the report, this new approach:
Determines for each institution a unique funding level based on its students' needs, mission, and variety of programs.
Encourages greater access and success for historically underrepresented students.
Provides a funding increase to every institution when new dollars are invested.
Ensures institutions have flexibility to invest in ways that best serve their students.
Incentivizes institutions to reduce reliance on student tuition and increases state investment.
Distributes new funding equitably and according to need.
Calls for transparency and increased accountability as institutions get closer to adequate funding.
With the Commission recommendations now submitted to the General Assembly, the next stage of this work begins. Higher education continues to create powerful opportunities for students and for states. Advance Illinois urges Governor Pritzker and legislators to move with intent to translate the Commission’s recommendations into action. In doing so, Illinois will set the standard for investing in its people and its future.
“The research continues to affirm that earning a college degree is a game changer for families, communities, and the state,” Steans said. “Supporting investments and evidence-based policy actions that allow every student, regardless of race and income, to access the intergenerational benefits of a college degree is an investment our state cannot afford not to make.”
Advance Illinois Statement on Commission on Equitable Public University Funding’s Release of Recommendations
For decades, Illinois’ status quo funding approach to higher education has lacked a coherent, equity-driven methodology, overlooking what students and institutions actually need to be successful. The result of this has been decades of lost opportunity for students, and for the state. So today we applaud the Commission—made up of agency heads, legislators, university leaders, and community partners—for analyzing Illinois’ current approach and proposing strategies that put our institutions – and our state – on a path to a funding system rooted in equity, adequacy, and stability. After two years of research and discussion and listening to experts and students, Commissioners have developed a blueprint designed to ensure every public university student in Illinois has the resources they need to earn a college degree. That is an outcome that benefits our young people, our communities, and the state as a whole.
Advance Illinois will provide a full analysis of the recommendations in the weeks ahead.
Advance Illinois’ Statement on Governor Pritzker’s FY25 Budget Proposal
Today, Governor Pritzker presented his budget proposal for FY25, recommending over $13.2 billion in education spending—a 1.5% increase. Amid what is projected to be a challenging budget year, the Governor’s proposal provides both reason for applause, as well as opportunities for urgent attention and investment by the General Assembly to ensure Illinois students across the full continuum of our education system have equitable access to sufficient high-quality resources and support.
“We all knew this wasn’t going to be an easy year for the budget,” said Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois. “Illinois school districts are facing unprecedented need on multiple fronts: Students continue to recover from the impact of COVID, but they need support to do so. Federal dollars that have been instrumental in learning renewal and in growing and diversifying the teacher pipeline are drying up. Newly arrived students coming into the state and its education system need help,” she said. “We know the Governor is committed to young people, and what he has proposed is responsible and pointed in the right direction, but simply isn’t enough.”
If approved by the General Assembly, the budget recommendation released today would further advance the Governor’s key early childhood initiative, Smart Start, and set aside funds to establish a new Department of Early Childhood. It would keep K-12 schools on a steady, but slow, path toward full funding. And it would continue slowly expanding access to higher education for Illinois students. But the budget leaves out critical work set to expire along with federal dollars. Highly-successful efforts to rapidly expand the pipeline into early childhood (Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE)) would get a small fraction of what is required to maintain this program. Efforts to create systemic mental health support are eliminated entirely, without dollars for the Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) pilot and social and emotional learning (SEL) hubs. And while teacher vacancy grants are maintained, dollars for new teacher and principal mentoring and induction are nowhere to be found.
On the early childhood front, the Governor pledged additional investments that would expand access to and deepen investments in early childhood education and care through the Smart Start initiative. These investments come after the Governor announced plans to unite early childhood services into a single early childhood agency to make it easier for families to access services. We support the Governor’s proposal of $13 million for the new agency, a $75 million proposed increase for the Early Childhood Block Grant, which would help state-funded preschool reach an additional 5,000 children and narrow access gaps across the state, and $158.5 million for Smart Start Workforce Compensation Grants that includes funds to accommodate higher participation in the Child Care Assistance Program. Further, the Governor’s budget includes $5 million for increased expansion of Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)’ Home Visiting Program, $6 million for Early Intervention, and $3.5 million for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to support early childhood literacy. While these are important steps in the right direction, we feel obliged to point out that these investments require many more trained early childhood educators and staff. Accordingly, the modest $5 million allocated for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) represents a significant missed opportunity. Since 2020, ECACE has been supporting upwards of 3,900 students and incumbent workers to earn early childhood credentials. The governor’s proposed budget reduces funding to just 17% of what was spent this year on scholarships alone, and far below what every agency involved has requested. We hope to see the General Assembly do more to sustain this effort and push for the full $60 million needed to maintain funding for scholarships, mentors, and navigators to support students to enroll, persist, and complete credentials and degrees in early childhood.
As a number of recent reports highlight, educator shortages persist in specific geographies and subject areas in our state, alongside a significant gap in diversity between teachers and students. In the past few years, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has done a commendable job in targeting areas of need through programs such as the Teacher Vacancy Grant, Affinity Groups, Teacher Mentoring, and Principal Mentoring and Recruitment. Many of these programs were launched using federal stimulus Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, but must continue if we want to see real, long-term progress in expanding, strengthening, and diversifying the pipeline. As it is, the governor is proposing to end teacher mentoring, principal mentoring, and affinity group programs, rather than sustain them with state dollars. We urge the General Assembly to heed ISBE’s recommendations and prioritize continued funding for these programs.
On a positive note, we are pleased to see that the governor proposes to continue vital investments in scholarships and supports for future teachers, such as the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship, Golden Apple and Golden Apple Accelerators—programs that are critical to making the profession more accessible and diverse.
Like others, we await the March release of recommendations from the Illinois Commission on Equitably Funding Public Universities for reimagining how the state can ensure every student has the opportunity to pursue a degree, and that every college has the resources they need to support students to graduate. We appreciate the Governor’s efforts to build on historic investments in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) to make college more affordable. The proposed addition of $10M to the (MAP) is a step in the right direction, however we hope legislators will work hard to improve upon this recommended allocation. The payoff for making college more affordable extends beyond the students earning a degree and to their families and communities. Importantly, as we look forward to the Commission’s recommendations, we echo the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s (IBHE) call for an equitable distribution of any new funding for public four-year universities. Another year of the status quo will only further bake historic inequities into the higher education system.
The Governor’s recommendation for a $350 million increase for the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula for Illinois’ K-12 represents a much-needed investment in our public education system and the students it serves. Having said that, we join others in the field in urging the state to push hard to allocate more than what amounts to a floor for investments into EBF. More than 1.3 million students in Illinois remain in underfunded districts; and they are disproportionately students from low-income households and students of color. EBF continues to be the most powerful tool we have to equip schools to sufficiently support students, and we urge our legislators to do everything in their power to push for more than the minimal level of $350 million to account for ongoing inflationary pressures while responding to ongoing, increased, and complex student need.
While data shows students are starting to rebound academically from the pandemic’s disruptions, there is still a long way to go, and investments in healing-centered, trauma-informed practices are essential. We were therefore disappointed to see that the Governor did not recommend the funds needed to support the REACH pilot and SEL Hubs, and did not to commit resources to develop a Childhood Adversity Index and fulfill the recommendations put forward by the Whole Child Taskforce. The REACH Pilot and SEL Hubs have been key to supporting hundreds of thousands of students’ social-emotional health, and have put Illinois on a path to systemic mental health and well-being for students and families. As the last round of federal stimulus funds totaling over $4 billion is set to run out this fall, and with widely disparate mental health resources available at schools across the state, local leaders will have to make difficult decisions on what critical programs and resources to keep for students. It is imperative that the General Assembly find a way to sustain funding for REACH and SEL hubs with state dollars in FY25, as proposed by ISBE.
We know the Governor is a champion for education, and we commend him for again making clear that he understands the value of a strong, well-resourced public education system. This budget works to grow investments in young people within the confines of a more challenging forecast. That said, it has some notable gaps – gaps we cannot afford to ignore. We now look to the General Assembly to support the Governor’s education proposal, and then fill in critical gaps to make sure we have the workforce and mental health services our students need.
Advance Illinois Statement on the Illinois State Board of Education FY25 Budget Recommendation
Today the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved and sent to Governor Pritzker recommendations for the FY25 Budget. In the face of budget constraints, Advance Illinois commends ISBE's proposal, which underscores its dedication to enhancing K-12 and early education in Illinois. This proposal serves as a solid road map for investments Illinois must undertake to meet the comprehensive needs of every child and student in the state generally, and in the ongoing aftermath of COVID disruptions.
Ensuring Illinois’ educator pipeline is well supported from recruitment to preparation and retention is crucial to student learning, so we are thrilled to see ISBE’s continued support for state-funded programs and appreciate the agency’s interest in leveraging state dollars to sustain key programs that were launched with federal stimulus dollars (ESSER III). These include the state’s teacher and principal mentoring programs and affinity groups for teachers of color. Such targeted and ongoing investments are critical to help ensure all children and students have access to diverse, well-prepared, and well-qualified educators. Furthermore, ISBE has proposed a $35M allocation to support newcomers, support badly needed at the local level. Illinois continues to struggle to fill bilingual and ESL teaching positions – an issue only heightened by the increase in English learners coming into the state. We appreciate ISBE’s proposal and hope to see the state continue to strengthen and grow its bilingual workforce.
We applaud the state’s goal of expanding access to high-quality early childhood education and care for all Illinois children. Through the Smart Start initiative announced this time last year, along with the ongoing work to move to a single early childhood agency, Illinois is working to achieve its vision of quality, equitable, and easy-to-navigate early learning and care. We support ISBE’s recommendation of an additional $75 million for the Early Childhood Block Grant – funding that would help state-funded preschool reach an additional 5,000 children and narrow access gaps across the state.
We are also pleased to see ISBE’s response to recommendations from the Whole Child Task Force and its commitment to addressing the impact the past four years have had on students academically, socially, and emotionally. We applaud the Board for proposing an investment of $18M in state dollars for the REACH program and Social & Emotional Learning hubs – programs at risk of closing in the absence of federal funding. And we appreciate ISBE setting aside additional funds to craft a strong Childhood Adversity Index – a tool that can help identify community and student needs, and that we expect other states will replicate.
Finally, ISBE’s proposal of a $350 million increase for Evidence-Based Funding for Illinois’ K-12 represents a much-needed investment in our public education system and the students it serves. That said, our state must go further. More than 1.3 million students in Illinois remain in underfunded districts; and they are disproportionately students from low-income households and students of color. While data shows our students are rebounding, our schools are still clearly recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. Chronic absenteeism numbers remain too high, proficiency rates are still too low, and the disparities in progress and outcomes remain across lines of poverty and race. As the expiration of the last round of federal stimulus funds is imminent, we applaud ISBE for stepping up to continue many federally-funded programs with state resources. But make no mistake, the loss of over $4 billion in ESSER III funding is stark—meaning local leaders will have to make hard decisions on whether and how to continue critical post-COVID supports. EBF represents the most powerful tool we have to equip schools to address these needs. So while we appreciate ISBE making good on the state’s commitment to add at least $350M a year into EBF, we hope the Governor and legislators will do everything in their power to push for up to $550M – an increase that reflects the skipped budget year in FY21, real and ongoing inflationary pressures, and ongoing and serious student needs.
We thank ISBE for its work and its commitment in pushing for important investments in Illinois’ students and children through its budget recommendation in a tight budget year. As we look to Governor Pritzker’s budget address in late February, we urge him to keep front of mind the diverse complexities and possibilities of every Illinois student and child, and the investment they need to succeed and thrive. He has proven himself a champion of children and education. In lean budget times, our students need that leadership even more keenly.
Advance Illinois Statement on the 2023 Illinois State Report Card
Today, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released its 2023 Illinois Report Card. There is good news on several key measures and encouraging signs that students are continuing to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, two areas of caution: First, most would agree that we should seek to exceed pre-pandemic performance, which generally underperformed the nation and included unacceptable equity gaps. Second, persistent disparities across lines of race, ethnicity, and family income, a continued decline in college enrollment numbers, and troubling rates of chronic absenteeism and teacher attendance make it clear there is more work ahead.
The promising news:
Following steep setbacks in reading and math proficiency during the height of pandemic in 2021, student proficiency in English Language Arts has continued to rebound, especially in the middle grades, and most notably for 8th grade students. While this is good news, (1) both reading and math remain below pre-pandemic levels, with math proficiency showing little sign of recovery, (2) proficiency levels remain below pre-pandemic levels in both ELA and Math, and (3) troubling disparities across income and race continue.
High school graduation rates largely held steady from SY21-22 to SY22-23, but continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 1.6%.
As importantly, the SY22-23 9th grade on track rates (strong predictors of high school graduation three years later) held steady, and continue to surpass pre-pandemic levels, suggesting graduation rates will remain stable at these higher rates for future cohorts.
These highlights are cause for celebration and are a credit to the hard work of our schools and educators to support students in making up lost ground caused by the pandemic. Still, as the report card makes plain, we have largely not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, and racial, ethnic, and income disparities across these and other measures – disparities that widened during COVID – require ongoing attention and investment.
While almost all student groups saw progress in 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA), Black students saw the largest percentage point increase in rates of proficiency, helping to shrink disparities that widened during the pandemic. Still, Black students as well as Latinx students continue to fall behind their white peers when it comes to both Math and ELA proficiency.
Although 9th grade on track rates stayed relatively stable, gaps remain among student groups. While Black student 9th grade on track rates have increased significantly--from 74.5% pre-pandemic in 2019 to 78.9% in 2023--that rate falls significantly short of the state average.
And while high school graduation rates remained relatively the same from 2022, and Black and Latinx graduation rates have increased from 2019 to 2023, significant gaps remain among student groups. Graduation rates were 7.5% lower for Black students (80.1%), 16% for students with disabilities (78.7%), and 4.9% for Latinx students (85.5%). Furthermore, students’ SAT scores remain stubbornly low at pre-pandemic levels with significant gaps by race.
On top of this, many students and in particular Black students, continue to be missing a significant portion of the school year. While there was a small improvement in chronic absenteeism, of about 1.5 percentage points—29.8% in SY21-22 and 28.3% in SY22-23– nearly a third of all Ilinois students are missing critical instruction time. This is deeply troubling. It is even more so when we discover even higher rates of chronic absenteeism among Illinois’ Black students and students from low-income households. This is unacceptable, and we are grateful for ISBE’s investments in its Regional Offices of Education, SEL hubs, community partnerships and other programming meant to address this crisis.
Aligning with what we’re seeing nationally, and with pre-pandemic trends, college enrollment continued to decline amid the pandemic, with just 65% of the class of SY20-21 enrolling in a 2- or 4-year college after graduation, down from 73.5% for the Class of 2017.
Our recent report, The State of Our Educator Pipeline, 2023, report, showed concerning teacher attendance rates in SY21-22. Sadly, while rates were low in SY21-22 (66%), they fell in SY22-23 to 64.4%. Put another way, fewer than two-thirds of our teachers were in attendance for at least 95% of school days. As Illinois deals with a shortage of substitutes to cover for teachers who are out, this is of significant concern – both in terms of supporting our teachers, and in terms of the impact this trend has on students. The extent of staffing challenges for this most recent year will come into sharper focus when unfilled positions data is released in January of 2024.
Today, we appreciate ISBE’s acknowledgement of the persisting challenges and where they are rooted: underinvestment in the very school districts that need resources the most – districts that disproportionately serve students from low-income households, Black and Latinx students, and students with disabilities, and districts that saw disproportionate impacts from COVID. Fortunately, since 2018, the Evidence-based Funding formula has—with the exception of one year—directed new state dollars to the districts farthest from the adequate level of funding needed to ensure all students have access to quality education experiences. What’s more, we applaud ISBE for the measures and programs it has put in place to accelerate student recovery and do so equitably. But it is clear that more support and more investment from our state, for our students, our teachers, and our schools is urgently needed to support academic outcomes that exceed pre-pandemic levels.
We celebrate schools for the progress to date as they dig in to further engage, educate, and support students in this current academic year, but we also call on state leaders and elected officials to heed the alarms embedded in this data: more must be done.