This spring’s legislative session had some conflicting tensions that shaped the budget. It is an election year, so there was pressure to fund items with popular support. But there were also factors pressing legislators to limit spending—including the end of COVID funds and handling the influx of migrants—as well as finding new revenue sources that wouldn’t be broadly unpopular. The second year of a session is also generally a little slower, with high-priority legislation usually passed in the first year.

As it is an election year, Illinois PTA has updated its legislator scorecard (click on Scorecard in the bottom right on your computer or scroll down to the bottom on your phone). Since some popular bills that Illinois PTA supports pass unanimously or with only a handful of “no” votes, we took advantage of a new feature of Voter Voice—for bills that passed (almost) unanimously, we’ve used sponsor or co-sponsor status instead of how legislators voted to help differentiate how supportive legislators are of Illinois PTA positions. The first seven bills on the scorecard (with checks, dashes, or no mark) are those that indicate whether a legislator sponsored or co-sponsored the bill, a very public commitment to work for passage of the bill. The remaining eight bills (with checks or Xs) indicate how a legislator voted on the bill.

While many bills passed this spring are still awaiting the governor’s signature, having the Democrats in charge of both chambers and the governor’s office has meant that most legislation that gets passed is then signed into law. Here are Illinois PTA’s legislative successes for this spring session.

School Funding

As noted above, creating the FY25 budget involved dealing with some financial pressures with federal COVID funding coming to an end, lower revenue growth as the economy slowed from its post-shutdown recovery, and increased costs to handle the influx of migrants. Illinois PTA was focused on two main funding issues in the budget: increased funding for the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula and funding Healthy School Meals for All.

Evidence-Based Funding

Regarding EBF funding, the General Assembly has added $350 million every year since passage except for 2020. While projections have shifted a bit over the years, this steady pace would have all schools fully funded by around 2037. Illinois PTA has advocated for increasing EBF funding to $550 million for several years to reach full funding quicker.

Last year, we came close to getting $550 million in EBF funding, but an April report showing lower than expected tax revenues and a projected cost of over $1 billion in migrant health care for this coming year made the legislature reluctant to make that commitment. This year, the general feeling in Springfield was that $350 million was going to be the funded amount throughout the session. But in advocacy, it is important to keep on your message year after year, so Illinois continued to advocate for $550 million, or if financial pressures made that impossible, to prioritize EBF funding for any additional revenue that was available. There was some minor success, as the House Education Appropriations Committee recommended about $450 million in EBF funding to adjust for inflation over the years, but the final budge amount was $350 million for EBF.

There was one other success regarding EBF funding. HB 3446, awaiting the governor’s signature, would require school districts to create a spending plan on how they are using the EBF funding. Districts are also required to include in the plan what stakeholders (like parents and PTAs) they have worked with in developing the plan. This is an opportunity for PTAs to advocate on the local level with their school district.

Healthy School Meals for All

The General Assembly passed Healthy School Meals for All last spring, but it was not signed into law by the governor until after the budget had passed. Since the bill would only start the program “subject to appropriation,” it was Illinois PTA’s focus this spring to have Healthy School Meals for All included in the budget, and given that it is an election year and similar programs in other states have received high levels of popular support when enacted, we had high hopes for this. Two bills, one in each chamber, would have appropriated $209 million for implementing the program. Unfortunately, Healthy School Meals for All was not included in the budget. Illinois PTA will continue to advocate for funding this program.

Cardiac Emergency Response Plan

If you attended the workshop at the Illinois PTA Convention this spring, you learned about sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of quick response. Sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack—a heart attack is due to a “plumbing” problem in the heart regarding blood flow; sudden cardiac arrest is due to an “electrical” problem in the heart where nerve signals get mixed up and don’t trigger the heart muscles properly. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to people of any age, and you may have seen video of a young athlete collapsing suddenly during a game due to sudden cardiac arrest. The survival rate of those who suffer sudden cardiac arrest is only 10%.

Illinois has required schools to have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in schools for some time, but has not required schools to have a plan in place to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest that would require the use of an AED. HB 5394, awaiting the governor’s signature, would require all teachers, administrators, and other school personnel to be trained in several emergency procedures, including the Heimlich maneuver, hands-only CPR, and the use of an AED. In addition, schools will need to have a cardiac emergency response team and a cardiac emergency response plan, and the team will need to practice the plan as part of the school’s safety drills. Illinois PTA worked with the American Heart Association to get this bill passed.

E-Cigarettes

Illinois PTA has been advocating on e-cigarette regulations for almost a decade now, and we’ve had a lot of success over the years thanks to PTA advocates contacting their legislators to pass legislation controlling their use and children’s access to them. Two e-cigarette bills passed this spring.

SB 2662, awaiting the governor’s signature, will prohibit advertising, marketing, or promoting an e-cigarette in a manner that is likely to mistake the e-cigarette as something other than a tobacco product. This is especially relevant regarding children, as some e-cigarettes are now made to look like highlighters and other school supplies to evade detection by teachers and school administrators. A second bill, SB 3098, will prohibit the remote sale (online or by mail) of e-cigarettes to anyone under 21. It also awaits the governor’s signature.

School Air Quality

The pandemic highlighted many issues, including air quality in schools. Many school districts used COVID relief funds to update HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) systems in schools, something desperately needed as the average US school building is 50 years old and hasn’t seen a major renovation since it was built. In addition to COVID concerns, asthma continues to become more common among children, and with children spending on the order of 6 hours a day, 180 days per year in school, school air quality is a potential concern.

HB 4903, awaiting the governor’s signature, directs the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to work with the Department of Public Health to compile resources for schools on indoor air quality in schools, including best practices for assessing and maintaining ventilation systems and information on potential state or federal funding sources.

Looking ahead on school air quality, Illinois PTA will be running a campaign urging legislators to co-sponsor bills in the House (HB 5226) and Senate (SB 3645) to require radon testing in schools every five years, with an aim towards passing a bill during the fall veto session, November 12-21.

Early Childhood Education

While Illinois PTA did not take a position on the bill, SB 0001 creates the Department of Early Childhood, consolidating all child care and early childhood education programs under one roof. These programs are currently spread among the Department of Human Services, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Department of Children and Family Services. The goal of the new department is to eliminate overlaps and conflicting requirements and to provide easier access and transparency to families and providers.