All over Illinois (and around the world!), people were in the streets again yesterday, this time for May Day, marching for workers, immigrants and the public good. Here’s three ways we can keep that energy going in the fight to defend our public schools…

✶ Phone bank for public schools

We're phone banking for public schools again this Monday, May 5th at 6pm!

Sign up here: bit.ly/5_5callsforschools

This past Monday's phone bank was a great success—in about an hour of calling, we had almost 500 conversations, and the majority of people called (70%!) said they'd call their Congressman Mike Bost (IL-12) to urge him to do what he can to stop Congress from creating a national voucher program. Most people we reached had not heard about this threat to public schools. (Bonus outcome: our callers said they genuinely enjoyed the experience! Yes, even ones that dread talking to strangers on the phone!)

Why we're making more calls...

Committees in the US House have started working on the details of what will be in the reconciliation budget bill. The legislation to create a massive national school voucher program, the Educational Choice for Children Act, is currently included.

Over the coming weeks, there will be horsetrading on what new programs will end up in the reconciliation package and what existing spending will be slashed by other committees. Every dollar—currently slated at $100 billion—diverted to private school tuition, mostly to wealthy families already paying for private school, via vouchers will literally be a dollar that we cannot spend on things like Medicaid-funded healthcare for children (almost half of kids in Illinois!) and SNAP benefits to feed families whose budgets are stretched ever thinner on rising food prices.

Politico: “Mike Johnson’s tight megabill timeline is on a collision course with reality”

On top of that, the extra loss to our public schools in Illinois, if even just 5% of current students started using a voucher, would be at least $1 billion. So, getting this information to constituents in districts with Republican reps, whose votes will be decisive, is crucial! Join us this Monday to learn more and spread the word!

✶ Call your state senator to protect students’ private data

Just yesterday the New York Times reported on private equity-owned consulting firms “hoovering up” data on teenagers and their families that colleges then use to optimize financial aid packages. And, in many cases, the scholarships are calibrated to attract families based on their ability to pay more, not students’ academic ability or financial need:

[These consultancy firms] can help a college buy hundreds of thousands of names of teenagers who have taken the ACT or SAT, market to them across various media, improve retention once they arrive on campus and raise money from alumni more effectively. -- "Colleges Know How Much You’re Willing to Pay. Here’s How."

That name-buying business is illegal in Illinois when the data comes from tests taken during the school day—but it’s happening anyway! Our AG and ISBE haven’t stopped it, and families deserve some recourse. Hence, the need for HB 2696!

HB 2696 will strengthen the Student Online Personal Protection Act aka SOPPA by giving families the right to bring lawsuits against companies who violate the law. There has been no enforcement action brought by our state AGs under SOPPA since it was passed in 2017— despite companies continuing to sell student data and not keep it secure.

Make a call to your state senator today and ask them to co-sponsor HB 2696! It is still lingering in the Assignments Committee, and the committee deadline in the Senate is a week from today. Additional sponsors can give it some oomph.

Call your {{'https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-your-state-senator-to-strengthen-il-law-and-stop-student-data-sales'|letter}}{{ LetterTitleName }} to ask for a YES vote and co-sponsorship of HB 2696: {{ LetterPhoneCompact }}. (If you don't get an answer in Springfield, call the in-district office.)

Below is a script to work from. Follow up your call with an email via this link!

✶ Attend a school board meeting and thank a teacher

IL-FPS is one of many advocacy groups supporting a national Teacher Thank-A-Thon during the month of May, spearheaded by the pro-public ed group Defense of Democracy and spotlighted by ed-policy TikTok sensation Mrs. Frazzled. (Read more about her here if you're unfamiliar!)

What does the Teacher Thank-A-Thon consist of?

• Sign up with Defense of Democracy to tell them you're participating (it's free!)

• Look up the date/time/location of your school board's May meeting. (Chicagoans, your local school council meeting works too!)

• Make a plan to attend - bring a friend or three!

• Write your remarks to sing the praises of a special teacher, program, librarian, or experience during that meeting.

• Attend one of several training sessions to make sure you're ready

• Record yourself so that they can share your recording in a month-end compilation

Basically, participating in the Teacher Thank-a-thon is a gentle introduction to the important (but daunting!) civil engagement work of attending and speaking at your local school board meetings.

Don’t take our word for how important this is—listen to Mrs. Frazzled:

School boards are especially crucial right now. As Trump and his weird little friends gain power and rip apart the U.S. Department of Education, we still have power at the state and local level.

They would probably prefer if I didn’t tell you that. But most decisions about education are already made locally. State boards, superintendents, and school boards hold tremendous power over what gets taught, what gets banned, how students are supported, and how money is spent. -- “From the Group Chat to the School Board”

Are you a regular attendee at board meetings already? Find a friend and drag them along!