The US Senate could vote as early as Friday on the reconciliation bill that would harm so much of the fabric of our country, including the basics of food, healthcare, and, yes, public schools, in order to bankroll billionaires.

But, the exact contents of the bill on the Senate side are still fluid, and, as of this afternoon, some Republicans aren’t fully on board yet.

Under Senate rules, bills to be passed via reconciliation can’t make substantive policy changes, they can only affect revenue and spending. So, the Senate parliamentarian sorts through the content of any reconciliation legislation and kicks out anything violating what’s known as the Byrd rule. (There is a good explanation of the rule and parliamentarian procedure at the end of this article, along with what’s been nixed so far.)

The national voucher program we've been fighting falls under the Senate Finance Committee’s purview, and we’re still waiting to hear what the Senate parliamentarian will rule on the voucher language.

The Senate version of the voucher program is smaller on an annual basis than what passed in the House, $4B vs. $5B. However, it doesn’t have any end date, and it doesn’t have even weak restrictions on discrimination against students with disabilities by private schools that get vouchers.

If the voucher program survives to get to the Senate floor, there could still be amendments made to change it, likely introduced by Senate Democrats. But, in some cases Republicans may be partnering with Democrats to stop certain provisions that have bipartisan disapproval.

That is what may happen to another terrible provision in the reconciliation bill for public schools, a moratorium on any regulation of AI by states, enforced by cutting funding to states that violate it. This provision would even apply to existing state laws or regulations of AI, like Illinois has on the books already. As the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy explains:

“The unregulated use of AI in the classroom is a profound threat to student privacy, as these programs collect and commercialize students’ personal data. It is also a threat to the personal connection, feedback and engagement central to a quality education. “

The Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley has said he’ll work with Democrats to remove the AI moratorium from the bill via amendment because the parliamentarian allowed it to stay in the legislation.

What can we do now?

There is still time to continue to contact our US Senators Durbin and Duckworth about both of these issues. On the plus side, they’ve both now taken public stances against a national voucher program.

Sen. Durbin spoke out during a shadow hearing held by Sen Hirono (D-HI) on Tuesday to bring attention to the damage that this unprecedented federal voucher program would do to public schools across the country. And Sen. Duckworth has been replying to folks who’ve contacted her on vouchers with a statement strongly opposing the proposed national program.

These are great developments. Now we’d like them to do whatever possible to push for vouchers to be removed from the Senate bill before it goes back to the House, and, if that doesn’t succeed, to advocate as a public school champions particularly in rural Illinois, to pressure the Republicans in the House to modify it there.

It’s also important to make sure they are hearing from constituents about the AI provision since there is existing clear opposition to it from the Republican side of the aisle to partner with.

Please call both our US Senators from Illinois. Phone numbers are below. Here’s a script for your call:

And, after you call, follow up with emails on both of these topics. Here’s an email form letter to send on vouchers, and one to send on the AI moratorium: