Today, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 1947 (SB1947), the negotiated agreement of Senate Bill 1 (SB1), into law. While Illinois PTA supported SB1, we called for an override of the governor’s amendatory veto of SB1 and did not support SB1947. Illinois PTA has long supported adequate, equitable, and sustainable funding of public schools, and … Continue reading Illinois PTA Statement on SB1947
Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: School Funding
Primary goals of both the National PTA and Illinois PTA are the adequate funding of education programs. The National PTA puts funding front and center in the 2017-18 Federal Public Policy Agenda Checklist with a call for a regular appropriations process replacing the current practice of sequestration “with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that … Continue reading Aligning National PTA and Illinois PTA Legislative Priorities: School Funding
New Resource for School Projects
Whether you’re a teacher looking for a class project or a PTA leader looking for an activity station at an event, Instructables has a new resource to help. Instructables has long been a website full of do-it-yourself projects of all sorts, and now with Instructables Education, projects suitable for students are grouped by appropriate ages … Continue reading New Resource for School Projects
Painting Outside the Lines
Welcome to our 48th year of PTA Reflections! I want to briefly introduce myself. I have been involved in the Reflections program for the last 9 years, first as a local Reflection’s Chair and then as Southern Region Chair. I am excited to serve as the Illinois PTA Cultural Arts Director. Since 1969, the National … Continue reading Painting Outside the Lines
Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the country from Oregon to South Carolina, passing through southern Illinois during its journey. While the total eclipse will only be visible in a narrow path and only for about two and a half minutes, all of Illinois will see a partial solar eclipse. … Continue reading Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
Aligning the National PTA Public Policy Agenda and the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform
Want to know how positions of the National PTA and the Illinois PTA align on advocacy issues? Over the next several months, we will be providing you with information on the Public Policy Agenda of the National PTA and offering insights into how the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform fits into advocacy efforts at the national … Continue reading Aligning the National PTA Public Policy Agenda and the Illinois PTA Legislation Platform
9 Back to School Pro Tips
This article was originally published on the US Department of Education’s Home Room blog by Dorothy Amatucci. The photo is copyright 2015 by Geoff Livingston under Creative Commons license, provided and modified by Illinois PTA. Back to school time can be a hectic time for both you and the kiddos. These are some of our … Continue reading 9 Back to School Pro Tips
FAQ: Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 1
Last week, Governor Rauner issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) that significantly changed the provisions of the bill to the point where the Illinois PTA cannot support the amended version of the bill. As a result, Illinois PTA is calling for members to contact their legislators to override the governor’s veto. Here’s … Continue reading FAQ: Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 1
Illinois Public Schools Rank 11th Nationally
Illinois’s public schools face a lot of challenges—inequitable funding, underfunding by the state, and more. But a recent report released by WalletHub indicates when it comes to a broad measure of how public schools are doing, Illinois does better than most. The report didn’t focus solely on school funding or academic outcomes, but aggregated two … Continue reading Illinois Public Schools Rank 11th Nationally
Tell Your Legislators to Override the SB1 Veto Today to Keep Our Schools Open
Today, Governor Rauner vetoed part of Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which would have fixed Illinois’s inequitable school funding formula. Key elements of Illinois PTA’s support of SB1 are that no school district receives less funding and that all school districts are treated in the same manner regarding current (but not legacy) pension costs. The governor’s … Continue reading Tell Your Legislators to Override the SB1 Veto Today to Keep Our Schools Open
One Voice Illinois 