Education

Congress gives school choice back to Illinois’ low-income students

Congress gives school choice back to Illinois’ low-income students

Illinois state lawmakers listened to teachers unions and killed school choice for over 15,000 low-income students in 2023. Now Congress has restored a scholarship program for needy kids, but Illinois leaders must allow families to access the money.

By Hannah Schmid

Vallas: Illinois returning to soft bigotry of low expectations

Vallas: Illinois returning to soft bigotry of low expectations

Illinois students are not learning, but instead of boosting the quality of education state leaders are trying to lower standards so scores don’t look as bad. Blame it on the Chicago Teachers Union and other teachers unions pushing for less accountability.

By Paul Vallas

Chicago Teachers Union sets more traps to kill charter schools

Chicago Teachers Union sets more traps to kill charter schools

Charter school contracts can be renewed for up to 10 years, but the Chicago Teachers Union has been pressuring for as few as two years. Sowing instability hurts charters and improves CTU’s odds of killing competition for their mediocre product.

By Hannah Schmid

U.S. House passes federal school choice program, moves to Senate

U.S. House passes federal school choice program, moves to Senate

The Educational Choice for Children Act continues to progress after it was included in the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House on May 22. It is cause for hope for 15,000 low-income Illinois students who lost their private-school scholarships in 2023.

By Hannah Schmid

Chantal Moore

Chantal Moore

“Our decision to homeschool was really birthed out of necessity. My oldest was struggling in the public school system. He has autism spectrum disorder and in middle school he started to face severe bullying and started to have negative self-talk.” “We knew he needed a change. We thought we’d try homeschooling just for one year,...