What to do as clock runs out on Spring Session in Springfield...
The General Assembly is back in Springfield this evening to start their last week of Spring Session. Scroll to the end for a complete to-do list of actions for reaching out to your legislators! But first, here are our updates on what’s needed and what’s still moving…
Read moreBig Tech in the (school)house: Breaches, backlash and maybe a solution
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:
Read moreBig wins on privacy & vouchers; plus millionaires tax is dead
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.
Read moreCPS, keep ICE's Big Tech partners out of our kids' counseling services!
Mental health is a prerequisite for learning, and all kids deserve access to mental healthcare. As ICE terrorizes larger and larger swathes of our city, the already urgent need for mental health services for students is only increasing.
Unfortunately, one of the resources Chicago Public Schools is directing families and students to is a for-profit mental health tech company, Hazel Health, that’s just merged with another startup with deep connections to one of ICE’s Big Tech partners, Palantir.
Read moreAdvocacy Orgs Call On Chicago Board Of Ed To Overhaul Or Cancel Telehealth Counseling Contract
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.
Read moreOne Giant Garbage Bill still in Senate—keep pushing back for public schools!
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.
Read moreNational voucher bill is moving...but there's still time to stop it
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
Legislation 2025
Thousands of bills are introduced in Springfield every session. Here's some of the bills that we are supporting or following closely during the spring 2025 session of the 104th IL General Assembly.
IL-FPS Legislative Initiative
Strengthen SOPPA - HB 2696 [Fact Sheet] This bill would give families the right to sue tech companies and other school vendors who violate the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA) instead of relying only on the IL Attorney General, who has taken no action to enforce the law's ban on data sales against state standardized testing contractors. Write to ask your state senator to sponsor this bill here.
Other bills we support
Too Young to Expel - SB 2423/HB 3772 [Fact Sheet] Schools are subjecting their youngest students to exclusionary discipline, like expulsion and suspension, too often, and disproportionately imposing these consequences on Black students and students with disabilities. This bill would ban expulsion for 2nd grade and below, and ensure that when students that age are suspended, their time out of school is kept to the minimum it takes to set up a behavior or safety plan to return the child to their educational environment. It also seeks to expand push-in supports for K-2.
Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools -HB 429/SB 2193[Fact Sheet] Initiative of Illinois Stakeholders for Air Quality in Schools. It includes not just ventilation verification assessments but the distribution of high-quality HEPA filters and air quality monitors to immediately improve air quality for all children, teachers, and staff in IL public schools.
Biometric Information in Schools - SB 1239 This bill would substantially strengthen the existing school code's restrictions on the collection of biometric information in schools, including prohibiting districts from purchasing or otherwise acquiring biometric systems to use on students and also prohibiting any collection or storage of biometric information or entering into agreements with contractors to do the same. Biometric data that schools previously held will be destroyed.
Bill we're opposing
Rollback reforms of seclusion and restraint - SB 1943 In spring of 2021, due to the hard work of disability rights advocacy groups and others, legislation and administrative rules finally passed to address horrific systemic abuse of students, via seclusion and restraint practices in schools across the state, exposed by investigative reporting by Pro Publica and the Chicago Tribune. SB 1943 would rollback crucial aspects of the reforms in PA 102-0339 with respect to training staff, reporting, investigations and limiting and eliminating practices that endanger students, even though data on seclusion and restraint has not yet shown significant improvements. Read more background on why this bill shouldn't pass here.
Looking for our past legislative agendas? 2024 - 103rd GA, 2023 - 103rd GA, 2022 - 102nd GA, 2021 - 102nd GA; 2020 - 101st GA; 2019 - 101st GA; 2018 - 100th GA
ACT will be the high school test in Illinois—Will ISBE let ACT, Inc. sell student data?
Last week the Illinois State Board of Education announced that it is now official, the state will be switching back to ACT for the high school test for 11th graders, and it will be a graduation requirement for public schools. Other ACT, Inc. tests will be administered for 9th and 10th grades.
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