Advance Illinois Statement on the ISBE FY27 Budget Recommendations

Today the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved and sent to Governor Pritzker recommendations for its FY27 Budget. Even in a tight fiscal year, our state continues to rightfully prioritize investing in students, teachers, and schools. In general, we applaud the budget recommendations, though there are some absences that will require further attention from the Governor and General Assembly. 

K-12 Funding 

In its FY27 budget proposal, ISBE recommends increasing the appropriation for the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) Formula by an additional $350M, which affirms the state’s commitment to making good on its promise to fully fund schools by growing EBF. We applaud the continued commitment to EBF, even as we urge legislators to recognize that our current level of funding is not sufficient to bring schools to adequacy within the next 15 years. That means an entire generation of students will continue to learn in underfunded schools. The state’s commitment to schoolchildren needs to be more than what is legislatively mandated. Instead, we must focus on what is required to close the gap for underfunded schools and the students they serve. 

Along with the passage of EBF in 2017, the Property Tax Relief Grant (PTRG) was established to provide districts with high property tax rates an opportunity to lower the property tax burden on local taxpayers by having the state replace a portion of foregone tax revenue with state funds. PTRG was funded at nearly $50M per year until it went unfunded in FY2026 due to the tight fiscal environment. The Professional Review Panel continues to develop its recommendations around this program, awaiting a forthcoming analysis that examines whether the tax relief program performed as intended. If for any reason the Governor or General Assembly choose to again withhold PTRG funds, we would hope and expect state leaders to redirect that $50M into EBF tier funding to make up for lost EBF funding from 2021, and to help close ongoing gaps to adequacy.  

At the same time districts face rising costs due to inflation, costs are also rising for Mandated Categoricals (MCATs), which cover special education facility tuition, orphanage tuition, the free and reduced meal program, and transportation (a vital cost center). These rising costs, combined with persistent underfunding, have driven MCAT reimbursements to an unacceptable level - one that is putting additional financial pressure on districts. Indeed, some MCAT proration rates have fallen as low as 60%. ISBE’s recommendation to increase funding for MCATs by $151.5M represents the investment needed simply to maintain current pro-ration levels for another fiscal year. Significant, continued investments are needed for FY27 and beyond to ensure schools can provide the essential services covered by MCATs, and can do so without cannibalizing EBF dollars needed elsewhere. The bottom line is that MCATs make learning possible—and support the equity-focused dollars going out to districts through Evidence-Based Funding. We appreciate the prioritization of these funding streams in ISBE budget recommendations and support increased funding for MCATs. 

Student Well-Being 

At a time when student well-being continues to be a clear issue, as evidenced by ongoing, serious chronic absenteeism and elevated mental health issues, it is critical that Illinois continues to support systems that help schools address growing needs. We are thankful that ISBE is asking to maintain support for Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI) and SEL Hubs, programs that provide key professional development and training for schools, as well as access to outside resources. Illinois has invested in building and piloting these systems, and they are making a difference in schools across the state; maintaining them reflects ISBE’s commitment to building a more systemic approach to this work. That said, increased state support for RSSI is needed: The Center for Childhood Resilience, which built RSSI and the tools that it is based on, is preparing to scale RSSI across the state. An additional investment of $1 million is necessary to build the infrastructure to support that worthy and timely goal. Finally, we were pleased last year to see the General Assembly pass and Governor Pritzker sign into law SB1560, requiring all Illinois public school districts to offer mental health screenings. However, with no funding requested for this initiative in ISBE’s FY27 proposal, we hope the agency has a plan to smoothly prepare for and launch universal mental health screenings in 2027. 

Teacher Pipeline 

Like other states, Illinois confronts challenges across the educator pipeline, from recruiting to retaining diverse, excellent teachers. As schools continue to wrestle with teacher vacancies—Illinois had 1,970 unfilled positions in the 2024-2025 school year —ISBE has recommended that the Teacher Vacancy Grant (TVG) be transitioned from a pilot to a permanent program with a $30M annual appropriation. This program, aimed at addressing acute shortages across the state through targeted, flexible grant funding, would be the largest investment in the educator workforce in the state. We appreciate ISBE’s focus on this critical area, even as we hope legislators will consider whether such ongoing investment is best made by enhancing EBF, or by continuing this fund (both positive options).  

Importantly, ISBE’s proposal to maintain funding for key programs across the educator pipeline, including Teach for America, Affinity Groups, and Principal Recruitment recognizes the critical nature of attracting future educators to the profession, supporting educators of color, and providing opportunities for growth and leadership in the profession. These are small investments with an outsized impact. 

While we applaud many of ISBE’s recommendations, we are concerned that the budget proposal does not include dollars for either new teacher or new principal mentoring and induction. Both programs have track records of improving retention rates – a critical piece of the puzzle in lowering vacancy rates and strengthening the profession. While we recognize the growing pains in re-establishing these programs (after statewide disruption in years past), it is imperative that we maintain them. Stopping and starting this work undermines its impact and our long-term goals. We strongly encourage the Governor and General Assembly to maintain this funding. 

We recognize the tough fiscal reality that leaders face in planning Illinois’ FY27 budget and commend ISBE for making student-centered recommendations in light of them. The agency’s budget proposal is a strong start, and we look to the Governor and General Assembly to address a few remaining, critical gaps. Never has the need for strong, steady state funding been more essential.  

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.