Longer public schools closed for pandemic, more students they lost

By Hannah Max

05/26/2022

New research shows remote learning spurred the enrollment declines plaguing public schools. Schools with more in-person instruction lost fewer students.

TAGS: COVID-19, public schools, teachers union

Over 23,000 Illinois public school employees leave unions

By Hannah Max

04/14/2022

Membership in teachers unions has decreased nearly 10% since 2017, when public educators gained the right to stop handing their pay to unions.

TAGS: Illinois, opt out, public schools, teachers union

Illinois COVID-19 school closures hurt math, reading scores

By Hannah Max

03/29/2022

SAT math scores dropped nearly 15%, and reading scores dropped 9% from 2019 to 2021 among Illinois high school juniors. Low-income and minority students saw bigger losses.

TAGS: COVID-19, ISAT: Illinois Standards Achievement Test, public schools, school closures

Illinois schools pay $8.8M in penalties for pension spiking

By Dylan Sharkey

03/25/2022

Illinois school districts paid out $8.8 million in penalties over two school years to cover salary and sick days in excess of what is allowed by law. Those are dollars taken from classrooms, but only hint at the full taxpayer cost.

TAGS: pension spiking, public schools, teachers union

Illinois Supreme Court denies Pritzker’s appeal of school mask mandate decisions, schools move to mask optional Feb. 28

By Amy Korte, Mailee Smith

02/25/2022

After the Illinois Supreme Court determined the state’s appeal of decisions regarding the governor’s school mask rules was moot, the governor declared schools can move to mask optional policies on Feb. 28.

TAGS: Illinois Supreme Court, JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools

What you need to know about Pritzker’s legal fight to keep students masked

By Mailee Smith

02/24/2022

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to let him keep his authority to force Illinoisans to mask. But his effort to keep his COVID-19 mandate power is ignoring relevant data.

TAGS: JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools

Illinois appellate court rejects Pritzker’s appeal to keep kids in masks

By Mailee Smith

02/18/2022

The appellate court ruling marks Pritzker’s second loss in cases challenging his mask mandate in schools.

TAGS: JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools

Masks in schools: What’s next and what parents need to know

By Mailee Smith

02/17/2022

Judge Grischow’s Feb. 4 temporary restraining order isn’t the final result in the multiple cases challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s emergency powers. The ultimate solution is providing permanent certainty by limiting those emergency powers through legislation.

TAGS: JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools

State leaders block Pritzker from reimposing school mask mandate

By Joe Tabor

02/15/2022

Shortly after a downstate judge threw Pritzker’s mask mandates into question, a bipartisan committee voted against reimposing another K-12 school mask mandate.

TAGS: COVID-19, JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools

Pritzker keeps mask mandates for schools indefinitely

By Amy Korte

02/09/2022

The governor’s maintenance of statewide school mask mandates without benchmarks for their removal makes Illinois an outlier.

TAGS: COVID-19, JB Pritzker, mask mandate, public schools