You all helped make a valiant attempt to move the charter commission bill for a veto override, but unfortunately the fix seemed to be in to keep it from getting through.

Dispatch from Springfield or Why A Grassroots Public Ed Advocacy Group Needs to Be in Springfield on the Regular:

First, thank you to everyone who shared our posts today, who signed up to be a recurring donor (woot!), and who on top of that made phone calls to Speaker Madigan and your own state rep about the bill to weaken the state charter commission, HB5175.

ISBE is currently proposing changing rules and setting requirements that go beyond what federal law says Illinois must do with respect to testing and opt out. These changes further entrench the overuse of standardized testing in Illinois.

Please raise your voice and submit a public comment about these changes.  Email your comment to [email protected] by Sunday, December 2nd.

#GivingTuesday is a week from today, and Raise Your Hand Action hopes you will support our work to bring a grassroots pro-public education voice to Springfield!

There was an override of the Governor’s veto on HB5175, the charter commission bill, yesterday in the House, and now it’s time to get it through in the Senate!

Our co-directors, Cassie and Wendy, are in Springfield this week to work on a number of issues! They will be meeting with Representatives Andrade, Martwick, and Williams to work on a data privacy bill. They will also be meeting with legislators to discuss the possibility of an override vote on the class-size goals bill Governor Rauner vetoed.

Who are we? What do we do? What do we believe? What can you do to support us?

We are a 501(c)4 organization. Please donate to support our work here.

RYHA has been busy this fall hosting Mayoral candidate meet and greets with We Will, registering people to vote, and connecting parents by legislative district so they can advocate together.  

Raise Your Hand Action participated in a press conference with Senator Mattie Hunter, Rep Sonya Harper, Blocks Together and community members on Mon October 29th to push back on CPS' inadequate response to HB5721, now Public Act 100-0965, the CPS facilities bill that became law this summer. Read our statement below.

We’re co-sponsoring a series of Mayoral Candidate Meet and Greets with the group We Will. These events are an opportunity to engage with mayoral candidates directly and have your education questions asked and answered in an informal setting.