Action Alert: Funding for Education and Low-Income Families
March 31, 2022
Email or call your state legislators to tell them the budget for FY23 must include the following:
An increase of $350 million for education Evidence Based Funding
An increase of 10% in early childhood programs:
The Early Childhood Block Grant ($54 million)
Early Intervention ($10.9 million)
Home Visiting ($1.7 million)
Child Care Assistance Program ($41 million)
An increase in the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program ($4.2 million)
A state Child Tax Credit, an expanded Earned Income Credit, and an increase in the Refundable Credit Amount
Take action by the end of this week—the budget will likely be enacted by April 8.
Background
Public education is a primary responsibility of the state; every child deserves access to an equitably-funded public education. Yet there are inequities deeply rooted in our state’s education system that have been both highlighted and exacerbated by the pandemic.
In Illinois, more than 300 school districts, serving 973,000 of the state’s students, receive under 70% of the funding needed to provide an adequate education. Black and Latinx students are disproportionately represented in these districts.
In 2017, the legislature committed to adding at least $350 million each year for Evidence Based Funding (EBF), to be sent to the neediest districts, to achieve full funding in ten years. The state education budget for FY23 needs to include at least $350 million in additional EBF funding over the FY22 budget amount to continue to address the deep disparities between schools.
The Early Childhood Funding Commission Recommendations detailed an urgent need for increased funding to provide equitable access to high-quality early childhood education and care services for all children from birth to age five. A 10% increase in all programs would begin to meet the need for better funding to support young families.
Increasing the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarship program would allow the maximum MTI scholarship to increase to $7,500/year to cover rising costs and fund bilingual teacher candidates of color to address long-standing teacher shortages.
Illinois has one of the most regressive state tax systems in the country. The legislature can make the tax system fairer with the State Child Tax Credit and an expanded Earned Income Credit (EIC).
According to a report by the Center on Tax and Budget Accountability, enacting a state child tax credit; expanding the existing state EIC to include young adults, seniors, and ITIN filers; and increasing the refundable credit amount will help over 4.8 million Illinoisans and stimulate private sector economic growth.
League Position
Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade public schools should be provided stable, reliable and adequate revenue.
Sustained funding of higher education should attract, support, and retain qualified Illinois students through state-funded, merit-based scholarships.
A state revenue system that is equitable, progressive, stable, responsive and simple should support these initiatives.