Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
May 7, 2021 | 1:27 PM
(The Center Square) – Thanks to better than expected tax revenues, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he now plans to fully fund the state’s Evidence-Based Funding law.
But, his plans to roll back some of the tax incentives for a school choice scholarship program continue despite the latest tax figures.
The Evidence-Based Funding law passed several years ago requires the state to increase funding for K-12 each year. In February, Pritzker prosed keeping that spending level. Thursday, he reversed course.
“Because our outlook has improved I have informed legislative leaders that I am now in a position to propose increasing evidence-based funding for schools by $350 million,” Pritzker said.
Kewanee’s Sullens named ‘Superintendent of Distinction’
Illinois Association of School Administrators
Dr. Christopher Sullens, superintendent of Kewanee Community United School District 229, has been named the 2021 Superintendent of Distinction by his colleagues in the Blackhawk Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators.
Sullens was honored at an awards luncheon May 5 in Springfield. State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala was the featured speaker, where 21 IASA regional Superintendents of Distinction were recognized.
“I have been fortunate to be able to work with board members who recognize the struggles that students in poverty incur, and they are willing to support students in all areas of academics, athletics and fine arts,” said Sullens, who has been an educator for 35 years and superintendent for 15 years.
WBGZ Radio 5/6/2021 |
By Andrew Hensel - Illinois Radio Network
Members of the Senate Education Committee hit the pause button on a bill that would require school district s to change their dress code policies regarding hairstyles.
An amendment to Senate Bill 817 would prohibit school district dress code policies from applying to hairstyles, including hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture, including, but not limited to, protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists, according to the text of the amendment. School districts that violate the provisions of the measure would risk losing out on Evidence-Based Funding dollars from the state.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
May 5, 2021 | 12:35 PM
(The Center Square) – Members of the Senate Education Committee hit the pause button on a bill that would require school district’s to change their dress code policies regarding hairstyles.
An amendment to Senate Bill 817 would prohibit school district dress code policies from applying to hairstyles, including “hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture, including, but not limited to, protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists,” according to the text of the amendment. School districts that violate the provisions of the measure would risk losing out on Evidence-Based Funding dollars from the state.
Sometimes we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. That’s how we should think about dealing with the acute inequities created by the pandemic while we simultaneously manage the long-term inequities in our education system. To press pause on funding the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula for students in Illinois for a second year in a row may appear to make sense on the surface, but it flies in the face of the “equity” the State of Illinois points to as a core value.
This was a safe political move, but one that will not only halt the state’s pathway to achieving adequacy and equity, but that will hurt, already struggling, poor Black and Latinx children for years to come. We should be embarrassed knowing that when the state finally committed to fixing what was one of the most regressive funding formulas in the country, that we will not achieve an adequate funding level for these children for another thirty years. Yet now, under the veil of COVID, we are diverting funds