The latest wave of a backlash against Big Tech’s takeover of the K-12 education system has been building around the country in recent months.After the jump we’re covering a few of the symptoms of this takeover first and then take a look at what solutions might be brewing here in Illinois:

We've got lots of important updates below, including good news on protecting student privacy in CPS and recent wins on the voucher front, bad news on the millionaires tax, and our plans for May Day.

If you are on social media, you can get many of these updates as they break via our feeds: Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads.

Strong public schools that welcome and nurture every child benefit all of us. But, as you know, since January, the Trump administration has been engaged in a massive campaign to destroy our public school system, in line with a larger agenda of undermining the public good and the foundations of a democratic society, including the establishment of a brand new federal voucher program.

Here are two important actions to take today to fight to preserve public ed and the public good at the federal level.

Things are tough, but taking collective action is the way forward. Read on and look for four actions highlighted below that you take right now...

Yesterday five advocacy organizations sent a letter to the Chicago Board of Education and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent-CEO Macqueline King calling on them to cancel CPS’ contract with Hazel Health, a for-profit tech company providing mental health services to CPS high school students or remedy the lack of protections for sensitive student data before the contract renews automatically on December 31, 2025. Full press release below.

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.

There's been lots of public education news in recent days. Below we cover three stories where your action is needed:

• Legislation to create national voucher program advances in the US House
• Fallout from the Powerschool data breach continues, but no movement on student data privacy bill in Springfield
• For-profit virtual counseling services in CPS endanger students' private data

Illinois Families for Public Schools sent a letter to the Chicago Board of Education today with a list of concerns about privacy and other issues with a new telehealth program where mental health services are provided by for-profit company Hazel Health. IL-FPS urges the Board to answer the questions posed in the letter and revise the consent forms that parents agree to when they sign their student up for services.

The daily ramping up of authoritarianism by the Trump regime is distressing and daunting. And we’re seeing the impact of attacks on Illinois’ public schools, where federal funds are being slashed for everything from HVAC improvements to local foods in school cafeterias to National History Day. But there is also resistance taking place at all levels—including protecting public schools and public school students—that we must celebrate and build on.