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Illinois high school juniors will have to take the ACT to graduate starting spring 2025. This comes at a time when most colleges and universities are again requiring students to take entrance exams for the admissions process.
lllinois lawmakers overhauled K-12 funding seven years ago and promised to 'adequately fund' every district by 2027. A new report finds that won’t happen until 2034, unless more education money is budgeted every year.
Illinois House passed a bill creating the state’s Department of Early Childhood that will house all child care and early childhood education programs. The proposal heads to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office.
A moratorium on closing any Chicago public schools until 2027, funding for K-12 schools, and the state’s early childhood department are some outstanding education issues before the Illinois legislative session ends in a few weeks.
Illinois has required high school students to complete the FAFSA in order to graduate since 2020. But state lawmakers want to waive the requirement for this school year.
Proposed legislation would also block the current school board from changing admissions policies at selective enrollment schools.
The proposal would create a new department that would transition programs from three state agencies to one.
Illinois education advocates and lawmakers are asking for more state funding to support migrant students enrolled in public schools.
Illinois is planning to have 11th graders take the ACT next spring, after almost a decade of using the SAT.
Illinois lawmakers have debated over Chicago’s elected school board districts for months. On Thursday, the House passed a bill that would allow voters to choose 10 out of 21 members in November.
Senate Bill 15 would have Chicagoans vote for 10 school board members and let Mayor Brandon Johnson appoint 11 members in November.
School officials, educators, and advocates are seeing a rise in demand for career and technical education programs. Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed adding more state funding to support, but some say it might not be enough.
A new report commissioned by Illinois State Board of Education found that while Illinois public school students scored higher on state tests than tax credit scholarship recipients, students enjoyed private schools they attended.
Illinois lawmakers are back at the capitol filing bills on early childhood education and K-12 schools. Here are five education issues Chalkbeat Chicago will watch during the session.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his plan to increase early education spending would put the state on track to have universal pre-K by 2027.
Literacy advocates have pushed to get the state to address reading gaps for students. Now, with a state plan finalized, they are looking forward to seeing what’s next
As federal COVID funds run out, the district is grappling with how to pay for universal preschool going forward.
Illinois plans to provide 5,800 additional preschool seats for the state’s youngest learners
Illinois youth in foster care trail their peers academically. They also face a quiet crisis.
The details of Chicago’s 2024 school board elections are still being hammered out by state lawmakers.