Advance Illinois Statement Regarding the FY26 State Budget

Recent and pending federal policy actions are impacting education access and complicating Illinois’ fiscal decision-making for FY26. In the teeth of significant uncertainty, the Illinois General Assembly passed a budget filled with hard choices; one that takes efforts to protect important investments for Illinois children and students, even as it misses key opportunities to double down on progress the state has made to improve quality and access. 

“We recognize and appreciate the efforts the Governor and lawmakers have made to protect public education, but hope we can and will find ways to further strengthen support for early childhood, K12, and higher education,” said Robin Steans, president of Advance Illinois. 

Supporting Our Youngest Learners 

Our state has long acknowledged the importance of a strong start for young children in Illinois, so we commend the General Assembly’s continued commitment to investing in early childhood education and care for FY26. Increases to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) ($75M) and the Smart Start Workforce Grants ($90M) to replace expiring federal relief help support program affordability, workforce retention, and quality care – all of which are crucial to a strong system. 

That said, there were some notable budget casualties. The Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) received insufficient funding to expand Preschool for All and Prevention Initiative programs, undermining the state’s goal to provide universal preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2027. At the same time, level funding for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) scholarship program fails to meet growing workforce demands and provide the critical support needed to help future early childhood educators complete their degrees; Five million dollars is simply not enough to address shortages in providers and stave off the negative implications for children and families when well-prepared providers are unavailable. 

As federal support wanes and the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood continues to take shape, sustained and increased state investments remain critical to ensuring all young children in Illinois have access to the care and education they need to thrive. 

Funding Concerns for K-12 Schools 

In what was anticipated to be a tough fiscal environment, we appreciate the difficult choices lawmakers confronted when considering support for Illinois’ public k-12 student and schools. First, we applaud the state for maintaining funding for critical systemic mental health supports in the form of the REACH pilot and SEL hubs. Every data point we have reminds us that students in every corner of the state are struggling, so while a larger investment is needed, this ongoing investment is as compassionate as it is critical. 

As for the big picture, at $307M, the investment into the Evidence-Based Funding Formula (EBF) provides important and vital support to school districts, though it foregoes opportunities to reduce local property taxes and falls below the minimum funding called for in statute. When EBF was first signed into law in 2017, 169 school districts were funded at 60% or below full funding. Today, just 1 district is. But over 1.3 million students still attend schools in underfunded districts – districts that are disproportionately rural and urban and that serve students from low-income households, English language learners, and Black and Latinx students. Further, the fact that all Mandated Categoricals (except those statutorily required to be funded at 100%) will be held at level funding for FY26 means districts face increased proration and growing budget gaps. This in turn means EBF funds will likely be used to backfill mandates, rather than addressing critical gaps. Therefore, while we applaud efforts to maintain EBF increases, the hard truth is that we have work to do here. 

Ensuring Quality by Supporting Our Educators 

Given how fundamental a diverse, well-supported, and well-prepared teacher workforce is to driving student growth and achievement, we are pleased that several critical programs were included in the final budget. We are also pleased to see ongoing or increased support for key strategies that allow Illinois to grow and strengthen its educator pipeline. Investments in teacher coaching and mentoring ($5M) help support retention of early career educators and new school leaders and are the type of state-level investments Illinois should continue to prioritize. An increase of $4M in Grow Your Own helps expand and diversify the educator pipeline, especially for male candidates. Further, we are heartened to see maintained funding for programs such as Golden Apple, Teach for America, and Affinity Groups in FY26. These programs play an important role in the state’s strategy to recruit, prepare, and support excellent and diverse teachers for Illinois students. We hope these programs will be sustained and expanded in future budget cycles.  

Finally, we appreciate the $8M investment in the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship program.  Though the program remains the subject of an ongoing lawsuit and a bill creating an alternative Teachers of Illinois Scholarship was introduced and passed the House over the weekend, we appreciate the state's ongoing commitment to growing our pipeline and doing so in a way that clears a path for a wide range of candidates. 

Supporting Our Colleges and Universities 

Illinois’ long-term prosperity depends on making postsecondary opportunity more affordable for all. So while we commend the state for increasing investment in our community colleges and public universities, the respective 1.5% and 1% increases from last year fall significantly short of what our institutions need to operate and serve students to and through their college journey. Thanks to the work of the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding, Illinois now knows just how much investment each of our public universities needs to fulfill their unique missions and support their unique student bodies. This proposed budget falls far short of what is needed, nor did legislators take action this Spring to adopt a university funding formula that would ensure growth into the future. This is an area for further effort if and when the General Assembly reconvenes later this year. 

We hope, too, that the General Assembly will work to further increase support for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), if and when it has an opportunity. The $10M increase approved this weekend is better than no increase in this tough budget year, but according to ISAC data, will not be enough to cover all anticipated qualified applicants. Moreover, recent federal actions changing financial aid requirements and terms for prospective borrowers means state efforts to ensure college access are more important than ever. 

Final Thoughts 

This session, the General Assembly had a challenging task in passing a budget that both recognized financial realities on the ground and anticipated significant fiscal changes ahead at the federal level. We commend our lawmakers and the governor for the steps they’ve taken to sustain critical areas of work and progress, and for remaining true to Illinois values and priorities. We commit ourselves to working with other advocates and officials to see what more can be done in the months ahead to further strengthen educational opportunities and outcomes for Illinois children, students, and families. 

Advance Illinois Statement Regarding FY25 Budget

The Illinois General Assembly today passed a budget for FY25 that considers education but leaves gaps in key areas of need for children, students, and the systems designed to support them. 

“If budgets reflect priorities, it is clear that the General Assembly understands the importance of investing in the next generation, even as it has left some important work undone,” said Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois.  

Taking Steps Forward in Improving Illinois’ Early Childhood System with Glaring Opportunities for More Strategic Investment 

Learning begins at birth and sets the course for a child’s long-term growth and development, so we are pleased that the legislature continues to prioritize early childhood programs. The new budget provides increases for critical early childhood programs such as the Early Childhood Block Grant, home visiting, and Smart Start workforce grants. That said, still greater investment is needed for programs such as Early Intervention, which ensures families can access key services for young children who are at risk of or experiencing developmental delays.  

As we celebrate the passage of SB1, which creates the Department of Early Childhood and the $14.2 million appropriated to fund its first year, we challenge legislators to do more to grow the pipeline into the early childhood profession in order to realize progress and impact. The state’s $5 million investment in ECACE, a scholarship program that helps working adults access higher education and complete early childhood education degrees and credentials, is simply not enough. Indeed, the investment – far short of the $28.6 million agencies requested – will leave roughly 2,400 early childhood educators without financial support to complete their programs. This, to say the least, is an incredible missed opportunity: Diminished funding for this scholarship runs counter to the state’s significant efforts to support a stronger, more equitable system that reaches more children and families! 

Strengthening Opportunities and Outcomes in Higher Education 

This spring, Illinois continued efforts to expand access to earning a college degree in-state, but they were decidedly more muted. The legislature’s measured 1% increase to MAP ($10M) and 2% increase to institutional general operating funding (nearly $40M) follow more significant increases in recent years. We hope and expect that greater increases are ahead, including when the state adopts a more adequate, equitable, and stable funding formula, as recommended by the Commission for Equitable Public University Funding. 

Supporting K-12 School Districts  

While we, together with many educators and advocates across the state, know a $550 million increase to the Evidence-Based Funding formula (EBF) will bring every school district to full funding faster, lawmakers approved a $350 million increase to the school funding formula for FY25. EBF continues to be instrumental in directing resources to schools, districts and students that need them most. Although data indicate that Illinois students are beginning to recover academically from the pandemic's disruptions, we are not yet to pre-pandemic academic proficiency, recovery is uneven, disparities persist, ESSER funds are nearly gone, and there is still a long way to go in supporting student well-being. The state must lean into EBF investments that go beyond the minimum funding level if it is to meet these challenges in earnest. 

Investing in the Whole Child 

As communities continue to recover from COVID disruptions, the need to understand and be responsive to student mental health has become even more urgent. We appreciate that the General Assembly appropriated modest funding for Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) and SEL Hubs, programs designed to ensure all Illinois students and educators attend trauma-informed, resilient schools. These key investments are essential to supporting student well-being, which in turn helps students and schools thrive academically and beyond. That said, the funding provided in this budget falls far below the level of federal funding allocated to these projects in recent years. Indeed, these significant reductions will limit the number of schools that will benefit from these programs in FY25, if not sufficiently supplemented with extended ESSER funds. However, one important piece of good news is that the FY25 budget provides $250,000 for Illinois to develop a Children's Adversity Index that will give the state a first-ever window into trauma exposure at the local level—information that will help identify community and district needs and help direct resources, training, and support. 

Strengthening Our Schools through Our Educator Pipeline, Key Early Career Supports Missing 

As teacher and staff shortages continue to plague many schools and districts, the Illinois State Board of Education is to be commended for the strides it has taken to strengthen and diversify its educator workforce. But that effort depends on stable support from Springfield. We are pleased to see the legislature continue to a make strong investment ($8 million) in the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship program (MTI), which helps support candidates of color access the preparation needed to become teachers. Further, we applaud continued investments in the Teacher Loan Repayment program and principal recruitment, as well as uptake of previously ESSER-funded affinity groups as a state funded item. That said, resources for teacher and principal mentoring are nowhere in the budget, despite the important work these initiatives do preparing new educators for the demands of their roles and bolstering early career retention. These programs, currently supported through expiring ESSER dollars, must continue, especially as the state continues offering expanded routes into the classroom that require minimal to no preparation through provisional and short-term approvals, short-cuts that underscore the need to support new teachers.  

Looking Forward, Difficult Choices Ahead 

Amid a tough budget environment, we recognize the difficult decisions our legislators had to make to advance a budget, and we appreciate the important new investments in critical and foundational programs and budget lines.  But with critical gaps in support for new teachers and principals, and insufficient funding to support student well-being and learning recovery, the impact of those decisions will now be passed to district leaders. Challenging choices lie ahead. So while we extend our gratitude to the General Assembly for the budget it has approved, we resolve to continue fighting. We will continue working alongside advocates and partners across the B-20 continuum to identify investments that sustain, strengthen, and accelerate our path to better opportunities and outcomes. Our choices as a state have real and lasting consequences for children, students and families.   

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.