Update: The Chicago Board of Ed did not hold a vote on the anti-federal voucher resolution on Mon. March 30th, and it is now on the agenda (26-0408-RS1 p. 16) for the Wed. April 8th meeting. You can register for the lottery to speak at the meeting here. And you can submit a written remark here. Suggested comment language and details on contacting your Board of Ed member below.
The Chicago Board of Education has a special meeting on Monday to vote on a contract with a new superintendent/CEO. Also on the Board’s agenda for Monday is a resolution on the federal voucher program (26-0330-RS1). It encourages the Governor and General Assembly to opt Illinois out of this harmful program. You can read the resolution here (p. 11).
Chicagoan? Please contact your Board of Ed member before Monday and urge them to vote YES on this resolution. Look up your Board member here; an email address for each member is on their Board bio page. You can also submit a written comment before the meeting using this form.
Here’s language you can use (and adapt) for an email and a written comment.
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I am writing as your constituent and a supporter of public schools about resolution 26-0408-RS1. I urge you to vote YES on this resolution to keep the federal school voucher program out of Illinois. School vouchers in any form fund discrimination by private, mostly religious schools and drain funds from public schools. Moreover, please use your voice as a school board member and education leader to advocate for full, fair state and federal funding for the public schools of Chicago and our entire state. Public schools exist to welcome and educate all kids, and they need the resources to make good on that promise. |
Not in Chicago? Ask your own local school board members to introduce and pass a resolution on the federal voucher program. The language of the Chicago resolution is a good place to start. We have language from other draft resolutions available as well. Contact us at [email protected] School board members taking a stand sends a strong message to state legislators.
...and a dispatch from Springfield
IL-FPS was on the ground in Springfield yesterday having conversations with senators and reps about keeping federal vouchers out of Illinois. Each state can decide whether or not to participate in the program. The default decisionmaker under the federal law that created the program is the state’s governor, but the state legislature can take this decision into their own hands via passing a state law.
This is an important point to share with your state legislators. If there is no state law on the books about the program, there will be an annual fight to push whoever the governor is to opt out. But the General Assembly could pass a law to opt the state out permanently. Longer-term protection from the federal voucher program should be put into statute.
If you haven’t used our “No federal school vouchers for Illinois!” action tool yet to write to Gov. Pritzker and your state legislators yet, you can find it here. Follow up your emails with a phone call! Contact info for all your state electeds is here.