There’s a lot of news coming out of Washington, D.C. this week about changes at the Department of Education. (There’s also a lot of lawsuits.) At home in Illinois, the Spring Legislative Session is in full swing.
We are monitoring developments that affect our members and will continue to share regular updates, what your unions and legislators are doing in response, and how you can join the fight to protect our students, schools, and professions.
TOP THREE ITEMS ON OUR RADAR
K-12 evaluation measure clears State Senate committee.
IFT’s legislative team is diligently reviewing the 6,000+ bills introduced during the Spring Legislative Session to determine how they will impact IFT members and Illinois students and communities. Senate Bill 28, a measure that IFT introduced, has breezed through the Senate Education Committee and should be voted on within a few weeks. If passed, it will move the decision around incorporating student growth metrics in teacher evaluation to local school districts where a joint committee of equal management and union decides how to use the growth component. This is supported by education experts, placing the priority in evaluation on conversations, interactions, and professional teaching development. Read more here.
What’s going on with the Department of Education?
A lot of news is coming out about the Department of Education (DOE) this week. On Monday, the Institute of Education Sciences was practically shut down. This office within DOE gathers and shares data on a range of topics, from best practices in teaching and student achievement to new ways to help students learn. One insider called it “destruction of knowing what works for kids.” Later in the week, Elon Musk’s DOGE began terminating DOE employees as World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon’s hearing for her Secretary of Education appointment began. So far, she has sketched out how she plans to dismantle the department. You can use this tool to see how cuts to federal programs could impact Illinois.
Unions continue the resistance.
A coalition of labor unions representing over 2 million workers filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, challenging a data heist carried out by Elon Musk’s Department of Government “Efficiency” inside three federal government departments. Read AFT’s press release on this move to resist Musk’s illegal efforts and protect Americans’ right to data privacy. AFT, along with the AFL-CIO and NEA protested in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, demanding Elon Musk be kicked out of the DOE.
PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK
We will be watching Governor Pritzker’s budget address on February 19. Stay tuned for our response next week. In the meantime, check out these comic artists’ renderings of Project 2025, what it means for all of us, and how we can resist.
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