5 new bills help fix Illinois education, but more is needed
About 2-in-5 Illinois elementary students can read at grade level, so there is a lot of room for improvement. Five new bills would improve student outcomes and parental involvement.
Illinois lawmakers passed five education reforms focused on literacy, transparency and career pathways that await Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature before they become law.
The bills signal a renewed effort by lawmakers to improve student outcomes and equip families with the tools needed to support their children’s success.
Expanding transparency
Two bills awaiting Pritzker’s signature expand transparency in public education by increasing the rights of parents to access information about their children’s education and care.
House Bill 1366 seeks to support the role of parents as advocates in their child’s education. The bill would require school districts to provide written notification to parents of their right to bring an individualized education program advocate to meetings. It also affirms the right to request an individualized education facilitator or a neutral third party who can help resolve disagreements between parents and educators regarding their child’s special education.
House Bill 2994 would remove barriers preventing parents from accessing critical information about their child’s care. The bill would ensure parents and guardians of minors in special education programs could view mental health and developmental disability records. For students over 18, it would allow a designated representative to access those records.
Improving literacy instruction
Illinois continues to struggle with reading proficiency: only 41% of students in third through eighth grade could read at grade level on state assessments in 2024. Among 11th graders, only 31% were reading at grade level. Two bills seek to combat this problem.
The bills would ensure more teachers are equipped with science-of-reading training and track how many students receive screenings to identify reading difficulties early in elementary school.
House Bill 1368 updates the state’s professional development requirements by aligning teacher training with Illinois’ Comprehensive Literacy Plan. Educators renewing their professional educator licenses must now complete literacy-related training grounded in science-of-reading techniques, which emphasize phonics and other traditional means of teaching reading.
Senate Bill 1672 seeks to strengthen Illinois’ approach to early literacy by focusing on how schools identify students early on who are at risk for reading difficulties. The bill would require school districts to report to the Illinois State Board of Education on how they conduct literacy screenings in grades K–3, including which tools they use, how often screenings occur and at what grade levels.
Expanding career education opportunities
Senate Bill 1605 would broaden access to career and technical education by allowing agricultural education and agribusiness courses to count toward high school vocational graduation requirements. It also establishes a new agriculture teacher grant program, allowing for these teachers to extend their teaching duties by up to 60 additional days for extra agricultural related programming.
With Illinois’ strong agricultural economy and growing demand for hands-on, career-first education, this bill creates meaningful pathways for students while incentivizing schools to invest in workforce preparation.
What’s next for education reform?
Illinois faces daunting numbers regarding the education status of its students. But state lawmakers are working on solutions and these five bills take steps to solve this crisis, empowering parents, investing in literacy and diversifying career pathways.
But more is needed.
Pritzker should sign these five bills and lawmakers should further pursue educational reform. They must expand science-of-reading based programs, strengthen accountability systems, promote career-first education, extend access to school choice and work to improve transparency in the classroom.
The governor and lawmakers have a lot of work ahead of them to repair Illinois’ education system.