Every fiscal year, Illinois lawmakers work through the state budget and decide what areas of our lives to invest in. As part of that process, the Illinois State Board of Education recommends a funding amount to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for investing in K-12 education, which includes the evidence-based funding formula known as EBF. Pritzker decides if he wishes to accept ISBE’s recommendation or decrease or increase the funding amount. The governor then releases his official budget during his annual State of the State address in which he highlights key areas he will financially prioritize for the year.
For this year’s State of the State address, Pritzker accepted ISBE’s recommendation of investing an additional $350 million into the K-12 EBF, the minimum recommended by law, all while celebrating Illinois’ children.
To the public, this funding amount seems like a large amount of money, and the state very much portrays it as performing a great duty for public school students and their communities. However, this is a gross understatement of the reality of K-12 funding.
Due to minimal investments in the EBF, the New Jersey-based nonprofit Education Law Center ranks Illinois 44th out of the 50 states for equitable school funding and gives the state a grade of “F” for equity. That means that despite the EBF’s intent to direct funds to districts with the highest need, these districts continue receiving less overall funding than those serving high-income students.
National experts and partners in the fight for school funding equity have used publicly available ISBE data and found the current EBF funding gap stands at $4.8 billion in K-12. At the current rate of investment, the EBF will not be fully funded until approximately 2040. Students and affected school communities cannot wait this long.
At this moment, schools are facing the rising cost of sustaining themselves while preparing for the loss of pandemic relief funds. This loss will only exacerbate existing issues as Illinois public school districts will most likely face budget deficits. Chicago Public Schools alone is facing a $391 million budget deficit for the 2024-25 school year, and this reality is not limited to Chicago. A deficit will translate to a district losing teachers, social workers, counselors, psychologists, teacher assistants, administrators, interventionists, bus drivers and possibly even students at a time when historically oppressed students need more support than ever before.
Many Illinois public school districts concentrated pandemic relief funds on students with the most needs, social-emotional learning, high poverty areas, facilities and schools with low enrollment. There has been a shift to address the root cause of systemic issues to better the learning experience for students. When you are able to invest in all aspects of students’ lives, the academics will follow. Children cannot learn in an environment where they are not safe and genuinely cared for. Illinois public school districts have witnessed how more investment allows them to do more for students than they ever have been able to.
ISBE’s own data demonstrates that 92% of Black and Latino students attend underfunded schools. This is unacceptable in a state that celebrates its school funding formula as one of the most progressive in the country. It is the state’s responsibility to be honest about the true EBF deficit and fulfill the 2017 promise to adequately fund every public school by 2027.
Lasting transformation is possible when policymakers truly listen and work with affected communities. They must be transparent about where we are and ask how Illinois can meet its commitment to providing excellent, fully resourced schools for all children regardless of race, family income or neighborhood. The answer starts with fully funding the EBF. It’s time for Illinois to demonstrate its commitment to equity and the future of our children.
The Partnership for Equity and Education Rights, or PEER IL, is a statewide advocacy network of students, parents, community members, organizers and lawyers fighting for reinvestment in public schools so that every child receives an excellent education. The lived experience of our members in affected school communities confirms that increasing the EBF by the minimum year-over-year is not working for the students it was designed to support, so we are demanding the state fulfill its promise of adequate and equitable school funding.
Erykah Nava, a Chicago Public Schools parent and Chicago native, is the communications strategy organizer at the advocacy organization Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education. Beatriz Diaz-Pollack, a public school parent and a former educator, is director of education equity at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
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