From the Desk—On the 2026 Spring Legislative Session

This week, the spring 2026 session of the 104th General Assembly officially adjourned amid a tight fiscal environment and the continuing impacts of federal policy changes on Illinois families, students, and educational institutions. This spring, lawmakers faced difficult choices as they worked to balance competing priorities while preserving investments in the resources and services that students and families need. 

Despite these challenges, Illinois made progress. The state maintained its commitment to education as a priority through sound investments in the B-20 continuum, advanced key legislation to better support students and families, and took meaningful steps to protect educational opportunities in the face of shifting federal policies.  

As we reflect on the session, there is much to celebrate, but there are also areas that demand continued focus and energy. Here, we highlight key outcomes from the spring legislative session and identify priorities we believe must remain at the forefront. 

FY27 Budget Highlights

This year’s budget was, in many respects, a maintenance budget. Faced with a constrained fiscal environment and growing uncertainty regarding federal funding and policy, lawmakers had limited flexibility to pursue major new investments. Although the budget does not fundamentally alter Illinois' educational landscape, it reflects an understanding that education remains one of the state's most important responsibilities and a key long-term investment. See our organizational statement for a more detailed summary of the FY27 Budget. 

At the same time, Illinois cannot afford to lose sight of broader challenges ahead. Educational needs continue to grow across the continuum – from early childhood education and care to higher education – while funding for critical programs remains relatively stable. The state will need to confront difficult questions about how best to sustain and strengthen important programs.  

As policymakers explore potential long-term revenue solutions, it is critical that equity and sustainability remain at the center. New resources should be invested strategically in evidence-based programs and funding mechanisms that support students and communities with the greatest needs. The progress Illinois has made over the last decade has been rooted in a commitment to data-informed policymaking and equity-driven investment. The "Millionaire's Tax", a proposal that received considerable attention this spring, would have effectively gutted the Evidence-Based Formula. However well-meaning, we hope and trust future efforts will reflect Illinois’ commitment to evidence and equity.   

Responding to a Shifting Federal Landscape

Throughout the session, Illinois leaders were forced to navigate a rapidly changing federal landscape. Federal policy decisions have created uncertainty for schools, institutions, and families and raised real concerns for the future of civil rights protections and educational opportunities. The Governor and General Assembly worked to preserve key educational investments while responding to emerging needs created by reductions in SNAP eligibility, expanded work requirements and administrative barriers for Medicaid enrollment, dismissed cases and layoffs by the Office of Civil Rights, weakened protections for students attending higher education institutions, a broad array of program cuts, and more.   

One notable example is SB3777, legislation that codifies disparate impact protections into Illinois law. Disparate impact standards recognize that policies can have discriminatory effects even when discrimination is not explicitly intended. As decades of federal protections in this area are rolled back, Illinois has acted to ensure safeguards remain in place for students across the state. This legislation reflects an important principle, and one that Illinois continues to prioritize: educational equity requires more than equal treatment. It requires ongoing attention to how policies affect different communities and whether systems produce equitable outcomes. By embedding these protections into state statute, Illinois has reaffirmed its commitment to these principles.  

Importantly, lawmakers also took steps to help buffer Illinois students and families from other federal policy changes. The FY27 budget includes full funding for the state's Free Breakfast and Lunch Program, helping ensure that students continue to have access to nutritious meals, despite reductions at the federal level. In addition, lawmakers provided funding to the Illinois State Board of Education to develop a more sustainable and accurate approach to identifying and counting students from low-income backgrounds, a critical component of ensuring resources are distributed fairly and effectively. This work matters, because federal changes to SNAP and Medicaid eligibility will almost certainly reduce participation in these programs, which the state currently uses to generate the low-income count we use for EBF. 

As federal changes continue to unfold, state leadership will remain essential. Illinois cannot control decisions made in Washington, D.C., but it can continue taking steps to protect students, families, and communities from negative consequences. 

Legislative Highlights

This spring, lawmakers advanced several education bills that strengthen early childhood systems, support student development and mental health, and improve learning environments across Illinois. 

Continued Transition of Programs to the Illinois Department of Early Childhood

With the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) taking over programs starting July 1, lawmakers passed several measures designed to support a smooth transition to the state’s newly consolidated early childhood agency. 

HB3595 modernizes statutory language by transitioning terminology from “day care” to “early care and education” while streamlining background check requirements, clarifying exemptions, and cleaning up existing code. While technical in nature, these updates help align state law with current practice and importantly support a more coherent regulatory framework to make hiring easier for providers and prospective staff – exactly the sort of benefits we hope to see from a consolidated agency! Similarly, HB5099 clarifies that IDEC will serve as the lead agency responsible for administering childcare background checks, further reinforcing the department’s role in overseeing and coordinating early childhood programs.  

Finally, HB5204 rationalizes the governance of Illinois’ early childhood system by codifying IDEC as a co-chair and the staffing agency for the Early Learning Council (ELC). Importantly, the legislation also expands representation on the ELC by explicitly including parents and caregivers of children aged five and under, ensuring that those most directly affected by policy decisions have a voice in shaping them.  

Taken together, these measures represent important steps toward creating a more integrated, efficient, and family-centered early childhood system. As Illinois continues implementing this historic change, maintaining a focus on quality, accessibility, efficiency, and accountability will be critical. 

Supporting Developmentally Appropriate Learning

Lawmakers also advanced HB4577, legislation that strengthens support for play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms. The bill provides clear definitions for play-based learning, guided play, and student-initiated play, helping educators and families to better understand how purposeful play supports child development and learning. The legislation recognizes what research has consistently demonstrated: young children learn best when they have opportunities to explore, create, and engage actively with their environment. 

By codifying these definitions, Illinois reinforces its commitment to developmentally appropriate instructional practices that support both academic growth and social-emotional development during that critical period. 

Promoting Focused Learning Environments

Another significant measure passed this session to address the growing role of technology in schools. SB2427 requires that school districts adopt and implement cell phone policies beginning with the 2026-27 school year. The policies will prohibit student use of wireless devices during instructional time while providing guidance for secure and accessible storage.  

This issue has generated considerable discussion among educators, families, and students nationwide. While technology can be a powerful educational tool, many schools have reported that unrestricted access to personal devices during class contributes to distractions, decreases engagement, and can negatively affect student well-being. While early research on the impact of cell phone restrictions is mixed, Illinois is joining a growing list of districts and states seeking to establish parameters for cell phone/device use in school and create learning environments that maximize student focus and classroom engagement. 

Amending High School Graduation Requirements

As the state continues to grapple with what it means for its students to be college and career ready, the General Assembly passed SB3070, which amends the graduation requirements for students starting in SY2028-29. The updated requirement allows students entering ninth grade in SY2028-29 to satisfy graduation requirements through either two years of foreign language or a new option of two years of approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) coursework. The foreign language requirement has faced push-back in recent years due to staffing challenges and pressures on student schedules. This change recognizes the value of multiple pathways to success and elevates high-quality CTE programs as an important option for students preparing for college and career.  

Although it is critical that students and schools have flexibility in ensuring students meet their graduation requirements, these requirements have real impacts on what students have access to throughout high school, what kinds of postsecondary opportunities they can pursue, and what careers they are ready for once they receive their high school diploma. Two years of CTE can provide valuable career exposure and foundational technical skills, but participation alone does not necessarily mean that a student has completed a coherent career pathway or gained job-ready skills. In addition, there remain concerns about whether students/families understand that some universities - including our own flagship, UIUC - require two years of world language in order to apply (or whether they understand the circumstances under which they can get an exemption). The state needs additional and robust conversation about what is expected of students at graduation and what that means for students’ postsecondary pathways moving forward. 

Advancing Student Rights in Higher Education 

This spring also saw the passage of HB4304, often referred to as the Higher Education Bill of Rights. The legislation establishes a comprehensive framework of rights for students attending postsecondary institutions in Illinois, including rights related to safety, accessibility, free expression, academic transparency, due process, financial transparency, educational quality, and institutional accountability.  

At a time when students face increasing concerns about affordability, access, campus climate, and educational outcomes, this legislation serves as an important affirmation that students deserve clear protections and meaningful transparency from the institutions that serve them.  

Unfinished Business: Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding

Despite its passage out of the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee this spring, HB1581, or the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act (AEF), did not progress this spring.  

While we are disappointed the General Assembly has not yet adopted AEF, we celebrate significant progress in the fight for a logical, student-centered approach to funding Illinois’ public universities. We applaud the bill’s co-sponsors, Leader Kimberly Lightford and Representative Carol Ammons, for championing a policy that will create a more equitable future.  

We also want to recognize the critical role the Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding has played in building awareness and momentum for AEF and for more affordable postsecondary options. College students, faculty, institutions, civic and faith groups, and community-based organizations have come together to imagine a better future, and we are proud to be a part of this growing group of advocates who have forged a presence and voice for higher education equity in Springfield and across the state. Through news interviews, opinion pieces, community events, hundreds of letters to lawmakers, and over a thousand witness slip submissions, advocates elevated higher education funding in the public consciousness, giving it the attention it deserves. 

Looking ahead, it is urgently necessary that this drumbeat continue. Every year without an adequacy-based, data-informed, and need-driven funding approach limits opportunities for students, our institutions, and their communities. Let us remind readers that Illinois leads the nation in enrollment declines at state universities, with the steepest declines correlating with deepest underfunding. This should be a wake-up call to advance a solution that stabilizes the system and sets up every institution for success. 

In prioritizing equity, affordability, and sustainability by passing SB13/HB1581, Illinois lawmakers and the Governor would help lift the health of our state on a number of fronts. Once passed and fully implemented, the bill will stabilize our institutions and position them to produce an estimated additional 122,000 college graduates, many of whom, the research tells us, will work and make a life in-state. These additional college graduates will in turn, help meet critical workforce needs (including in education) and contribute to the social and economic fabric of their communities to the tune of $342M in local tax revenue and $691M in tax revenue for the state. 

These are outcomes Illinois cannot afford to miss out on, and delaying remedies only steepens the climb. Our students, our institutions, and our communities cannot wait. So, we urge advocates to remain vocal in their support for SB13/HB1581 and call on the General Assembly and the Governor to move with haste to support this pivotal legislation. In doing so, they will acknowledge that higher education is no longer a luxury, to a necessary asset requiring strong, consistent investment. 

Conclusion

This session, lawmakers preserved key educational investments, strengthened the state’s early childhood infrastructure, protected important equity provisions, and strengthened safeguards for student well-being. These accomplishments demonstrate a continued commitment to building an education system that serves all students. 

Yet the work remains. The questions confronting Illinois are not simply budgetary. They are fundamentally about vision and priorities. If Illinois is to be one of the best places in the nation to raise a child, send students to school, make a life... what kind of education system do we need to build? How do we ensure opportunity reaches every community? And how do we sustain progress in an era of fiscal and political uncertainty? 

As we look ahead, we must remain committed to building an education system that is equitable, affordable, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of all students and families. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities.  

Let us use this period to recommit ourselves to that work. The future of Illinois is counting on it.