Advocacy

And That’s a Wrap!

Although we had heard members of the 103rd General Assembly (GA) expected to be finished up early Sunday morning, unfortunately, that was not the end result for the Spring 2024 session. In order for that to happen, all bills would have needed to be filed by Friday evening, and although an initial version of the budget bill was filed, both chambers adjourned late into the evening without filing a budget implementation bill or several of the expected omnibus bills.

Ultimately, all of the final bills were filed on Saturday and Sunday in the Senate. Due to the procedural requirements for the timing and quantity of times each bill must be read into the record in each chamber, the Senate was able to work through the day on Sunday before adjourning for the final time that evening. 

The House needed two additional days to complete the work of concurring with the final bill packages, so the chamber adjourned late on Saturday evening, and returned on Tuesday and Wednesday to wrap up the 103rd General Assembly’s Spring 2024 session. And even though the budget deal was agreed to before the Senate passed it on Sunday, there was some excitement in the House on Wednesday morning when it came time for the revenue bill to be called. The first vote included only the minimum threshold - 60 votes - and Republicans challenged the roll call alleging that some members were not physically present for the vote. Their challenge was successful, and only after two additional roll call votes were there enough votes for the bill’s passage. The House wrapped up its business around 5:00 am Wednesday morning after the excitement.

Below are some highlights from the FY25 Budget, Budget Implementation Bill and a general wrap-up for the Spring session.

FY25 Budget

The budget bill was filed on a shell of SB 251 around 5:00pm on Friday night. That would not be the final iteration of the bill, however, as we saw a second amendment filed at 3:00am Sunday morning, and eventually a third amendment with the final budget document (Senate Amendment 3) later that day. The FY 25 budget provided an additional $528 million dollars in General Revenue Funds (state dollars) for K12 education which totals the state’s contribution for education at $10.8 billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Evidence Based Funding

Education’s major funding source, the Evidence-Based Funding line item, received its expected $350 million increase - $300 million of which will flow into the formula via tier money, and $50 million being allocated for another round of Property Tax Relief Grants. The FY25 increase in EBF funding marks an impressive $2.3 billion added to public education funding since the passage of the formula in 2017.

Mandated Categoricals (MCATS)

Additionally, there was a $32.7 million dollar increase to Mandated Categoricals (MCATS). The final budget mostly mirrored the Governor’s recommendation, with a $30M increase for special education transportation, a $2 million increase for regular education transportation, flat funding for special education private tuition and an increase of $700,000 for orphanage reimbursement. These funding levels are $133 million shy of what the Illinois State Board of Education had requested, marking another year of significant proration ahead for district MCAT funding.

Early Childhood Education

The goal of Smart Start Illinois is to eliminate early childhood (or preschool) deserts for 3 and 4 year old children by 2027. FY 2025 will build on the FY 2024 goal of adding 5,000 preschool seats by adding an additional 5,000 seats through the Early Childhood Block Grant with a $75 million increase, or 11.1 percent, over the FY 24 funding amount.

Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program 

The Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program which addresses acute and chronic teacher shortages by providing the state's most understaffed districts with resources to attract, hire, support and retain teachers was funded for a second year at $45 million dollars. According to ISBE and the Governor’s Office, the grant has allowed 170 school districts to hire more than 5,300 teachers, created 166 pathway programs to prepare new teachers and established retention initiatives focused on more than 10,000 current teachers.

After School Programs 

In January 2024, Senator Villivalam introduced SB 2943 to support community learning centers and community schools. This bill aimed to allocate $50 million in state funds to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for grants under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Although the legislation did not advance, an additional $50 million was included in the FY25 budget specifically for after-school programs. The final FY25 budget not only maintains the initial $25 million allocation for after-school programs but also adds another $50 million, bringing the total funding for these programs to $75 million for next fiscal year.

Highlights of FY25 Education Budget Increases Over FY24 Funding Levels:

• $350 million Evidence-Based Funding

• $75 million Early Childhood Block Grant

• $50 million After School Programs 

• $32.7 million Mandated Categorical Programs

• $10 million Career Technical Education

• $3 million Agency Capacity

• $3 million Implementation of the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan 

• $3 million Digital Education Programming 

• $2.5 million REACH 

• $2 million Student Care Department 

• $2 million Crisis Mapping 

• $1.9 million Dolly Parton Imagination Library 

• $1 million Affinity Groups 

• $1 million SEL Hubs

• $1 million After School Matters 

• $800,000 Agricultural Education 

• $670,000 Summer EBT

• $300,000 Breakfast After the Bell 

• $250,000 Adversity Index 

• $150,000 P-20 Council 

FY25 Budget Implementation Bill (BIMP)

The BIMP was filed as Amendment 2 to SB 2665 on Saturday afternoon, and refiled as Senate Amendment 2 to HB 4959 on Sunday in the Senate. It was passed late in the evening on Sunday and sent to the House for concurrence when they returned during the week. 

Included in the language is an extension for the program that allows retirees to return to work full-time in subject shortage areas without impairing their retirement. The program was set to sunset in June of 2024, and we had requested an extension through June of 2029 via HB 4662 (Rep. Elik; R-Alton / Sen. Lewis; R-Carol Stream). The final language extended the program through 2027, and although the original bill did not pass, we appreciate the assistance of both legislators in helping ensure this critical program received an extension before it expired in June.

The final version of the bill included language that would allow for transportation reimbursement for state-authorized charter schools. The state budget accounted for the cost of adding these 10 schools by allocating an additional $2 million to the MCAT Regular Transportation line. However, it's important to note that we opposed this decision and advocated for these schools to have a separate line item for transportation funding.

Language was also included that will add dental and vision insurance to the health benefits available to TRS benefit recipients and dependent beneficiaries starting January 1, 2025. For the first year of the program, the premiums for the additional coverages may not exceed $7.11 per month per benefit recipient and $28.43 for each dependent beneficiary.

A Fleet Electrification Incentive Program was established through language included in the BIMP, which provides that the Environmental Protection Agency shall establish the program. School districts are eligible for grants under the program for electric school buses for 65% of the base amount of the bus. $70 million was appropriated in the FY25 budget for electrification projects, but it remains unclear if any of that allocation will be directed towards this program.

Sunset Extension Omnibus

The annual omnibus bill that extends certain legislative allowances that were on the cusp of sunset was filed on Saturday and passed by the Senate Sunday evening. Senate Amendment 2 on HB 4615 includes an extension through June 30, 2026 for interfund transfers for one-time, non-recurring expenses. This extension mirrors the timeline for the allowance of interfund transfers to the fund in most need. 

Session Wrap-Up

All in all, we tracked around 60 bills that impacted K12 education in some way that were passed through both chambers and will be sent to the Governor’s Office in the coming weeks. The full list of bills that have passed can be reviewed through the bill tracker tool that is available on the Illinois ASBO website. We will continue to update the tracker over the next two months as bills are signed into law.

We want to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who filed witness slips, filled out One Click Politics campaigns and called their legislators when important pieces of legislation came up throughout this session. Your voices are - and will continue to be - critical when bills that impact public education are considered by the General Assembly.

Thank you for your advocacy and we hope you all have a fantastic summer!