First and foremost, THANK YOU to all of our members who marched forth on March 4th. Our inbox is overflowing with photos of you standing up for public education and your students, and many legislators joined us in solidarity. ICYMI, Tuesday was also the president’s joint address to Congress. Our favorite part: IL Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski brought IFT member and Belleville Teacher Lisa Quandt as her guest! Watch her on CNN this week.
We are monitoring developments that affect our members and will continue to share regular updates, what unions and legislators are doing in response, and how you can join the fight to protect our students, schools, and professions.
THREE ITEMS ON OUR RADAR
New Secretary of Education releases “final mission” ahead of Trump’s Executive Order abolishing her department.
This week started with the confirmation hearing of Secretary of Education Linda McMahon – WWE cofounder, billionaire, and enthusiastic school choice proponent. The Secretary released her “final mission,” of sending education back to the states (spoiler alert: states already control curriculum and provide the majority of funding). Even though McMahon knows that only an act of Congress can dismantle the Department of Education, that didn’t stop reports of Trump’s planned Executive Order on the subject. AFT responded here. The chaos and cuts leave us questioning how funding will be maintained for our students who rely on federal dollars – especially those at Title I schools, those with special needs, and those who rely on grants and loans to achieve higher education and career training. Click to see what’s at stake in Illinois – and here to drill down to your own congressional district.
University Library Task Force Bill clears IL Senate committee.
SJR13 passed the Senate higher education committee this week. This initiative creates a task force that will examine libraries and librarianship on Illinois public university campuses and provide a recommendation to the General Assembly to ensure the educational services provided within remain a viable benefit to Illinois students. University Professionals of Illinois, Local 4100 has been a vocal proponent of this bill and the need for students to have faculty librarians.
GOP voucher plan would divert billions in taxes to private schools.
Congressional Republicans have introduced a bill to establish a dollar-for-dollar tax credit that will divert billions of dollars per year to school voucher programs. As we know firsthand from fighting off the “Invest in Kids” voucher scheme in Illinois, these programs lack accountability, do not improve student performance, and many have discriminatory policies. The bill is called the Educational Choice for Children Act. We will monitor progress and share ways to take action.
PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK
The Illinois House will be in Springfield next week, and members of the Senate are back at home. Regardless, we can still tell them why Illinois public workers need a fix to Tier 2! Our union coalition is seeking members to write letters to their local newspapers to spread the word; complete this form if you’re interested!
As “DEI” attacks continue, one must ask: What’s wrong with inclusion?